On the Frozen Plain
by Writing bunny
Summary: Hitsugaya's journey from Rukongai to the Tenth Division captain. NO PAIRINGS
1. Dreams of snow

**Author's note:** So here comes my first multichapter Bleach story. This is about the younger days of Captain Hitsugaya, his journey from Rukongai to becoming a captain of Gotai 13. There are no pairings in this story, at least not for Hitsugaya.

Also, I completely disregard the Diamond Dust Rebelion here. I don't like the premise the story was based on and I don't understand how was it supposed to work. So if you are Kusaka fans, sorry, he doesn't exist here. Otherwise I'm keeping to canon, with manga being more important than anime.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach.

**On the frozen plain 1: ****Dreams of snow**

.*****************************************************************************************.

_The snow was covering the ground everywhere he could see. It was __deep; his short legs were sinking into it well above his knees. And it was cold. His breath was condensating in small clouds of fog. The freezing air was biting into his thin body covered only in tattered old clothes, utterly insufficient for such weather._

_He took a look around. The scenery appeared very much the same in every direction. A seemingly endless snowy plain with a couple of low hills and the occasional leafless tree. It was snowing lightly and the flakes dancing in the air were preventing him from seeing far. He knew there was a town nearby, but he couldn't see it anymore. It was just fine with him. He didn't want to go back there anyway. Not after… the thought remained unfinished._

_A gust of wind brought even more cold with it. The child wandering through the snow didn't even shiver. He was well past it. But it reminded him he should move on. He didn't know why, but he went on anyway. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew he wanted to get away from…_

_He lifted his right leg, pried it from the merciless grip of snow and forced it to move forward. There was a little pain. It was an improvement compared to the beginning of his journey. He hoped that he was healing, but realistically he realized he was probably just going numb from the cold. It was very likely considering his fingers and toes were completely blue. He didn't even want to know how did his lips look like._

_He laid his right foot on the ground and the hungry snow swallowed it whole. He didn't even blink. He lifted his left foot and repeated the motion. Then right again and then left and then right and left and again and again and again. The unbroken whiteness of the scenery and the monotony of the walk, no matter how strenuous, lulled him into quiet apathy._

_Then suddenly the routine was broken. His foot slipped and he fell onto the thick, soft snow. It wasn't cold. He realized he hadn't been feeling cold for quite a while now. Actually, the snow seemed almost warm, like a big fluffy pillow. It might be because the harsh winds couldn't reached him there, or rather because his body couldn't feel the frosty temperature anymore. He knew this was a bad sign, but he couldn't bring himself to care anymore. Yet something in him refused to simple give in. He pushed himself up on his hands. His arms were shaking badly, barely holding him up. He moved his legs under his body and tried to stand. He fell right back down. Whatever he had slipped on earlier was still slippery._

_He lay in the snow for a while longer, waiting for his speeding heart to slow down a little. He knew he shouldn't linger, but he couldn't muster the strength for another attempt just yet. Finally he tried again. It was hard. He could barely feel his limbs anymore and his fingers were refusing to obey his commands stubbornly. But he refused to give in. He pushed with all his might and somehow managed to stand up. The cold winds immediately attacked him again, but he barely noticed them. He made a step forward and then another. His legs moved sluggishly, but he walked on._

_Too soon he fell again. He had no idea why this time. He couldn't feel his legs anymore. He tried to push up again, but his arms refused to obey him. He remained lying in the snow, completely helpless. He knew he should try to move, but what was the point again? He felt perfectly comfortable where he was. The snow was soft and warm, like a big pillow, much better than anything he was used to sleep on. The snowing thickened. The snowflakes were falling on him, not thawing anymore, covering him like a blanket. The wind couldn't reach him there. It was a perfect bed. It tempted him to just close his eyes and sleep. But he didn't. He knew that if he did, he wouldn't be waking again. At least in this world._

_Yet he wasn't scared. What was there to fear? There probably was something, but he couldn't recall it right now. All he could think of was that there would be no more hunger, strife and… he didn't want to think of it. Yet, he didn't really want to die. He wanted to see the clear skies again and feel the warm breeze in his hair, walk across the grass and pick berries, taste their sweet…_

_And unwelcome memory wormed its way into his mind. He almost shivered, but he didn't have enough energy for that. He didn't want to go there again. He instead gazed into the snow again. The snowflakes were falling without pause. He watched their slow dance, completely entranced by their motion. He was grateful to them for letting him forget. He decided he loved the snow._

_Slowly his eyes drifted shut._

.*****************************************************************************************.

His eyes snapped open. He lay on his futon, staring into the darkness. Only a thin beam of moonlight was shining through the window, giving a bit of light to the otherwise dark room, revealing four bare walls and another bed with its occupant. Judging from its angle, it was still the middle of the night. The boy sighed. He wouldn't be able to sleep after this dream, he never was. And it was still too early to get up. Maybe he'd just visit the kitchen and look for something to eat or drink. He sat up. The mattress under him rustled. It wasn't a loud sound, but it echoed in the silence of the house. It woke up his roommate. The young girl stirred and opened her eyes.

"Trouble sleeping again, Shirou-chan?" she asked.

The boy scowled. "My name is Toushirou, remember it finally." The girl shrugged.

"Whatever you say, Shirou-chan," she shrugged. "Did you have that dream again?" He didn't answer. "Are you scared again?"

"Scared?" he took offense. "I'm not the one who pissed her bed!"

"You're mean, Shirou-chan," she protested. "That was only once!"

"Bed-wetter Momo!"

"Little Shirou-chan!"

"Bed-wetter!"

"You're repeating yourself, Little Shirou-chan-chan-cutie!" she pointed out.

"Now you did it!" he shouted jumping from his bed.

A rumble was heard from the room next door. Toushirou paused in his charge.

"We woke up Granny," Momo whispered urgently. Her companion immediately ran back to his bed and disappeared under the covers. In the next moment the door opened and an elderly woman walked into the room.

"Are you awake again, children?" They gave no response. "I know you are," the matron continued. "So now go to sleep again, you're disturbing an old woman's sleep. Or do you want me to tell you a story? Or perhaps chase away the monsters under your beds?"

"We're not little kids," Toushirou grumped.

"Whatever you say," the woman smiled. "Did you have a nightmare again?"

"Hn."

"He did," Momo supplied.

"That's not true!" he protested.

"Sure it isn't," Granny replied. "But I'd rather chase it away anyway." She walked slowly to his bedside. She reached out with a wrinkled hand and ruffled his hair. "Here, here. Isn't it better now?" Toushirou nodded. It really was better. He usually disliked being treated like a kid, but he made an exception for Grandmother. She was one of the few bright points of his afterlife.

He remembered, how, soon after he died, a shinigami approached him and promised he'd get to a better land, to Heaven. He nearly scowled at the memory, but managed to school his expression. He didn't want to worry his Grandmother. So where was he again? Ah, the shinigami. That guy had promised him paradise, but failed to deliver. Sure, Junrin'an, the First District of West Rukongai was better than what he used to live in before, but it most certainly wasn't the Garden of Eden. The village looked nice, but the inhabitants weren't much better than the people he knew when he was still living.

But then again, what had he been expecting? All the souls here used to walk the Mortal World once. And just like down on the Earth, even up here people looked at him strangely thanks to his looks. White hair was a really uncommon sight on a young child, but it wasn't like he bleached it. It was his natural color and he had no idea how he ended up with it. But even that couldn't be the full reason. There were much stranger sights in the Soul Society and most of them weren't ostracized. Yet he was always considered the freak. Everybody said he was so cold and that he was giving them the creep, but he honestly didn't know why. He was usually trying to be polite, and if he sometimes acted like a brat, it was because someone else started it. And besides, most of the kids he knew acted like brats and they received much warmer treatment.

He sighed again. There was no use pondering over it. He felt Grannny's hand stroke his hair again. He smiled. He had her and Momo. Life, eh… death, wasn't so bad after all.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The day was nice and warm, not a single cloud floating on the clear blue skies. A group of children was playing in the street, kicking a ball among themselves. Two more kids walked up to them.

"Can we play too?" the older one, a girl, asked.

"Sure thing, Momo," the leader of the group smiled. The pair moved to join the game.

"And where do you think you are going?" one of the children playing scowled at the newcomer boy.

"To play," he answered like it was the most obvious think in the world. "Tecchin said we could."

"You'd really let him here?" the complainer scowled.

"Sure, Ayumi, I don't mind him that much," Tecchin shrugged.

"I'm not playing with him," Ayumi insisted.

"And why not?" Momo asked.

"Just because," the girl stated. "He's strange."

"Shirou-chan is a perfectly nice boy," Momo declared.

"He's strange," Ayumi repeated.

"Take it back!" the girl scowled.

"No!"

"Do it!"

"Quit it, Momo," Toushirou interrupted. "I don't want to play anymore anyway."

"But Shirou-chan…" Momo began.

"I'll just go for a walk," Toushirou interrupted.

"I'll go with you," she offered.

"Nah, you don't have to." He waved his hand dismissively. "You want to play so go play."

Momo looked undecidedly between him and the group. "Well, if you say so," she shrugged and joined the game.

Toushirou was left alone. He shot one last wistful glance to the merry group before walking away. He sighed. He wanted to just play like a normal kid, but he couldn't. Other children never let him. He never understood why and he had pondered over it many times. Well, there was no need to depress himself needlessly. He supposed he should count himself lucky. The First District of West Rukongai was a peaceful and orderly place, being right beside the walls of Seireitei. He heard that further from the center the situation was much worse. That shinigami was really lying when he had promised him 'Heaven.' Or maybe he just didn't know what he was talking about. Very few shinigami ever entered Rukongai and when they did, they were just rushing through to deal with whatever Hollow managed to enter the Soul Society. In whole his afterlife, he couldn't recall a single one who would have simply stopped and chatted with the inhabitants of Rukongai. That didn't mean they didn't exist, only that he never saw any, but he wasn't there for a long time.

He paused when he realized where his aimlessly wandering feet brought him. He was staring right at the white walls and the huge West Gate of Seireitei. It was open today, but Jidanbou, the gigantic gate guardian, was on duty, diligently watching out for anyone who would try to get around him without a pass. The giant seemed intimidating to most people, but Toushirou never feared him. The gatekeeper had a gentle nature and anyone who knew him at all had to realize it. Many of the residents of the district knew it, Jidanbou once used to live here before he went to the Shinigami Academy and joined the Gotei 13, but that had been a very long time ago. Toushirou always liked talking with him. The man never treated him like a freak.

Toushirou walked up to him and greeted. Jidanbou looked startled around before noticing the child.

"Oh, hello there, Shirou-chan." Toushirou gritted his teeth. He hated that nickname. Was it so hard to remember his full name? It had only three syllables. But for Jidanbou it might really be too much. His body and heart might be great, but his mind wasn't, as he usually proved the moment he opened his mouth.

The gentle giant picked him up with one hand. Toushirou scowled, but secretly he enjoyed the view. He could almost peek over the wall of Seireitei from up there. He made himself comfortable on the giant palm. "You are so small I can barely see you," the gate's guardian remarked.

"So what's new?" the boy asked and the gatekeeper began to talk. Toushirou always loved listening to his tales, no matter they were often repetitive because the giant tended to forget what he had already said. Sometimes he even forgot what he was talking about in the middle of the story. He spoke of the various shinigami passing through his gate, life in Seireitei and the battles against Hollows. Toushirou always listened entranced. Not that he loved shinigami that much, but life in Rukongai was generally boring. Every little break of routine provided a welcome excitement. He often imagined himself applying for the Academy, joining the Gotei 13 and partaking in heroic battles. How would the citizens of Rukongai look at him if he saved them from a Hollow? Surely they would see him as a hero, smile at him and nobody would scowl upon seeing him anymore.

"So here you are," a voice hoarse with age snapped him out of his daydreaming.

"Where else would he be?" a younger one added.

"Grannny! Momo!" he smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, obviously," the girl replied.

"It's dinnertime, didn't you notice?" Grandmother pointed out. Toushirou looked at the sky. The sun was indeed nearing the horizon. He must have been really lost in thoughts to completely miss it.

"Sorry," he grinned sheepishly. Jidanbou gently lowered him to the ground. Toushirou jumped down from his palm.

"Go, home, little one," the gatekeeper said.

"By, Jidanbou," Toushirou waved.

"You looked so cute sitting on his hand," Momo observed. The boy only grunted in response.

"Let's go," Granny commanded before her two charges could start a full-blown squabble. She shuddered and wrapped her shawl closer around her body. "It's getting cold already. The autumn must be coming early this year. So come before you catch a cold." Neither of the children felt cold, but they went nevertheless. The prospect of dinner was too welcoming to pass. Unlike the other souls in Rukongai, those two were often hungry.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_The snow was covering the ground everywhere he could see. It was deep, but he could walk through it without much trouble. It was snowing slightly and the snowflakes were dancing in the breeze. The scenery was mostly flat, but he could see small hills in the distance. The monotony of the white scenery was disturbed only by occasional trees with their seemingly black trunks and branches covered in snow. It was cold and his breath came out in small clouds of fog. He walked forward, on and on. He was cold, his thin garments not enough to keep away the harsh winter, his toes and fingers blue and stiff. But he still walked on. Behind him was something he didn't want to think about. In front of him… He had no idea, but he had to find out. So he walked._

_Suddenly his foot slipped and he fell into the snow. It was so inviting. He wanted to just stay there and enjoy its white softness. But he couldn't. He had to walk forward, to find out whatever was on the end of his journey. He pushed his week, hypothermic body up and walked. And walked until he fell again._

.*****************************************************************************************.

He had never seen Momo so excited before. Not even when she was unwrapping her birthday presents. And today wasn't her birthday nor there was any festival he was aware of. So what had gotten her so hyped up? He couldn't help but ask.

"Guess!" she grinned. "I bet you'll never get it right!"

"You bought a new yukata?" he tried.

"No," she shook her head. "Try again."

"You discovered a new sweets stall?" he guessed.

"Wrong again," she shook her head.

"You met a boy who immediately fell madly in love with you?"

"Now that would be great," she said dreamily, "but no, that's not it."

"No clothes, no sweets and no love?" he mused aloud. "What else could it be?"

"Guess," she prompted, "I still think you won't get it right. Or do you want to give up already?"

"Never!" he protested. "I'll get it!"

"Then try again!" she prompted. "You have only one more try!"

"Hey!" he protested. "You never said anything about the number of tries!"

"But you already had three!" she pointed out. "I'm being nice and allowing you a fourth one! So you'd better get it right now!"

"You'd just said I'd never get it right!" he reminded her.

"You won't," she replied, "But try anyway."

"You're going to become a shinigami?" he blabbed the most ridiculous thing he could come up with.

"Yes!" she cheered. "I can't believe you got it right!"

"What?" Toushirou blinked in disbelief. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that Momo, the sweet, kind Momo, might actually become a fighter. The girl seemed totally oblivious to his befuddlement and prattled on.

"I met a shinigami today, and he was so nice, and he said I had reiatsu and that I should apply for the Academy!"

"And you are going to?" Toushirou asked.

"Of course!" She looked at him like he was stupid. "Who wouldn't want to become a shinigami?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Maybe somebody who doesn't want to get eaten by a Hollow."

"You're no fun," she complained. "I thought you would be happy for me. Why do you have to be such a pessimist?"

"I'm being realistic," he retorted. "Why don't you remove your rose-tinted glasses for once? Do you even know the average life expectancy for a shinigami?"

"No," she shook her head. "Do you?"

"No," he admitted. "But that's beside the point. It's dangerous."

"It's not that dangerous," she disagreed. "Besides, once I am a shinigami, I will be able to protect myself."

"And you'd have to go against more dangerous Hollows," Toushirou pointed out.

"Why do you always have to spoil my mood?" she whined.

"Somebody has to keep you grounded, Bed-Wetter Momo."

"And you just can't miss any opportunity to do it," she huffed.

"So when are you leaving?" he asked. The word left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. Momo was leaving. His Bed-Wetter Momo was leaving. He'll be all alone with Granny from now on. And she looked so completely happy about it.

"I'll have to take the entrance test first," she answered. "If I pass, I'll start school early spring."

"If you pass?" the boy inquired. So there was a chance that Momo won't be going anywhere.

"Yes," the girl nodded, "but he said that with reiatsu as high as mine there shouldn't be any problem getting in."

"Aren't you a bit too young?" Toushirou questioned.

"No," she shook her head, "many people my age enter."

"I still think you should wait," he said.

"Wait for what?" she asked.

"Until you're older," he answered.

"Until I look like Granny?"

"No!" He squeezed his eyes shut. The mental image was too disturbing.

"Don't worry, Shirou-chan," Momo smiled. "I won't be gone forever. I'll visit you whenever I can."

"You promise?"

"I promise," she smiled reassuringly. Despite that, he didn't feel any better.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The days passed in a blur after that. Momo was chronically ecstatic; all day prattling about what the Academy was going to be like. Every single soul in Junrin'an must have known about her invitation by the evening of the second day. And she wasn't even officially admitted yet. Toushirou couldn't help but imagine what would happen if she failed. She would be the laughing stock of Rukongai, but at least she would stay home with him and Granny. And maybe her friends would stop talking to her and she would spend more time with him. Then he berated himself for being selfish. He should wish Momo luck; want her to become a Shinigami. He had heard that nobody had to go hungry in Seireitei and you got to live in giant palaces. It was a huge step-up from Rukongai. But still, he would be happier if she stayed.

Then the day of the test came. Momo had been all anxious through the previous week, barely able to sleep on the last night. When they walked with her to the gates of Seireitei, she was trembling. Then she walked through and they lost their sight of her. They waited the whole day for her to return. When she did, she looked ready to fall asleep on her feet. When he asked her how did she fare, she answered she didn't know. Then they waited for the letter with the test results.

When it finally came, her hands were shaking so hard she couldn't open it. Toushirou had to do it for her.

"So what does it say?" he asked. She finally found the courage to read it. Her face brightened with a wide grin.

"I'm accepted!" she shouted. Toushirou couldn't help but cheer with her. But ever since then, he counted the days until he'd lose his Bed-Wetter Momo.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Good morning, Shirou-chan!" The shout made him stop pretending he was still asleep and open his eyes. He wanted to just lie for a while longer, to pretend that this day didn't come yet, that it would never come. But the voice broke through his illusion and forced him to look at the reality. Momo's too cheerful face was smiling at him much closer than he appreciated.

"Get out of my face," he grumbled. She stood up, but he didn't delude himself into thinking she had listened to him. She was just too impatient and wanted to leave already. She was even dressed in her uniform. Toushirou didn't like seeing her like that.

"C'mon!" she called. "Hurry up and eat breakfast! It's my first day and I don't want to be late!"

_You shouldn't be so damn cheerful about leaving us, _he thought sitting up on his futon. _Aren't you even a little bit sad? Aren't you going to be homesick?_

"I'm going to say hi to Tecchin and Acchan next door!" she called running out. _Really too enthusiastic, _he thought.

"Tch. What a pain." That was all he had to say.

Breakfast was awkward. Hinamori was bouncing enthusiastically, barely able to restrain herself from running to Seireitei already. Toushirou was scowling. Granny was trying to keep peace at her table, but she had little success. Both children stubbornly refused to cooperate. Finally, or all too soon, depending whose opinion you asked, it was over. Momo picked her bag and the trio headed to the Western Gate. Tatsukichi and Ayumi came as well, but they were keeping their distance. Momo chatted with them for a while before reaching the gate. There she showed her pass to Jidanbou and the giant opened them the gate, wishing her luck.

"See ya!" she yelled. "Even though I'll live in the dorms, I'll come to see you and play with you again, alright?"

_Like seeing you once a month is enough, _Toushirou thought.

"Don't come back again, Bed-wetter Momo!" he shouted after her. She didn't answer. The gate closed behind her. Toushirou felt Granny's hand on his head.

"Even though you won't see her again for a while, you say such things," she chided.

"I don't care," he snapped. _Because she doesn't seem to, _he thought but didn't say aloud. "She'll have a break soon, won't she? Whatever the case, she'll come back again." _I hope she does. I hope she won't forget all about us._

Tatsukichi and Ayumi were watching them, but when they noticed Toushirou looking at them, they turned around and ran. Toushirou sighed. They had at least tried to talk to him whenever Momo was present, but now they had no reason to hide their true feelings toward him. He never understood what had brought them about, but he was used to it. At least when Momo had been there, she would keep him company and sometimes make the other kids play with him as well. But now he was going to be all alone again. Well, it would be him and Granny, but she was too old to play. He didn't know what he was supposed to do with all his time now. And Momo remained oblivious to all of it.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_The snow was lying thick on the ground, but he had __little trouble moving forward. Everywhere he could see was white. Snowflakes were floating through the air, piling on the covering on the ground, sticking to the frosted branches of the few frosted trees around. He walked on. The wind was playing with his hair, but he barely felt the cold. He had to move on. Behind him was… what again? He couldn't remember. In front of him… He didn't know either, but he felt it was important to reach it, whatever 'it' was. He walked and walked. The scenery around him was completely silent, only the occasional gusts of wind brought at least some little sound to this frozen wasteland. It sounded almost like a voice._

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Guess what, Shirou-chan?" Momo's eyes were shining with excitement when she said the words. Four months had passed since she had entered the Reijutsu Academy and she was visiting them again.

"Don't call me Shirou-chan," he grumbled. "It's Toushirou. You should be able to remember."

"Of course, Shirou-chan," she smiled and ruffled his hair. He huffed in response. There was no use arguing with Hinamori. She would just call him whatever she wanted anyway.

"So what's so great?" he asked.

"Guess!" she grinned. "I bet you can't get it right!"

"The guessing game again?" he raised an eyebrow. "I'm not in the mood."

"You're no fun," she pouted.

"Be nice, Toushirou," Granny reprimanded him from inside the house. "Who knows when you'll see Momo again."

"Who cares?" he shot back. He didn't have to feign the annoyance in his voice. Momo had left them, dropping all the responsibility of looking after Granny on him. Couldn't she see she was needed here? Granny hadn't been well lately. She was getting cold all the time and he couldn't be sure, but he thought she had gotten thinner. Airhead Momo was completely oblivious as ever. At times, he despised her for it. And then he despised himself for despising her. How could he even thing something like that? This was Momo, little Bed-wetter Momo, the girl who had been nice to him when no-one else was and introduced him to Granny. He owed her too much so he should feel ashamed of himself for ever thinking that.

"You're so cold," she scowled. Then again, at times it was extremely easy to despise her.

"Now, now, children," Grandmother interrupted the brewing argument before it could start. "Be nice to each other. Didn't you want to tell us something, Momo?"

"Oh yes!" the girl exclaimed. "You'd never guess what happened!"

"Just tell us already," Toushirou prompted, mildly irritated.

"Then listen, silly!" Momo turned to him, her voice overflowing with excitement. "There was a captain inspecting the Academy earlier this week!"

She obviously expected an enthusiastic response, but she was grossly disappointed. The only reaction she got from her adoptive brother was a bored "So?"

"So?" she scowled. "So? Is that all you have to say?"

"Yes," he replied curtly. "Should I say something else?"

"Of course, you moron," Momo chided. "You should have asked what he was like!"

"Why?" he raised a white eyebrow. "You're going to tell us anyway."

"But it would be no fun," she complained. "Why can't you be a bit more sociable?"

"Why do you have to complain about it all the time?" Toushirou shot back. "You know me."

"Yes," the girl sighed. "I know you."

"So what was the captain like?" Granny interjected. She honestly loved both her surrogate grandchildren, but their constant bickering was taxing on her patience.

"Awesome!" Momo squealed.

"And what was so awesome about him?" Toushirou inquired.

"Well, he's a captain, for once," the girl explained.

"And?" he asked skeptically.

"Do you have to be such a grouch?" Momo rolled her eyes. "Captains are just awesome, and Aizen-taichou is the most awesome of them all!"

"So what's so awesome about him?"

"You'd have to see him to understand! He has such an aura, such power around him; it makes him look like a god. And yet he is so kind and nice…" she explained dreamily.

"And how do you know that?" he questioned.

"Because I met him!" Momo was annoyed with the interruption.

"Did you really meet him or did you just see him?" Toushirou refused to leave the question unanswered.

"I met him, really," she answered. "I got pushed into the aisle and I felt so silly for running into his path, but he wasn't angry at all! He even patted me on the head!"

"So?" the boy shrugged.

"So? You're really impossible, Shirou-chan," Momo sighed. "A captain patted my head! And captain Aizen, no less. Can you say the same?"

"No," he shook his head. "And I don't want to."

"You're just jealous," Momo guessed.

"No, I'm not," he denied the accusation. "And you're an obsessed fangirl."

"Now that was uncalled for," Granny interrupted.

"Hn," Toushirou grumped.

"If you saw him, you'd like him too," Momo insisted.

"Not going to happen."

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He was walking through the snow with no hin__drance. Everywhere he could see white was covering the ground. The scenery was completely flat, only a few leafless trees were growing around. The wind played with his thin clothes, but he barely felt any cold. He wasn't numb, the cold simply couldn't reach him anymore. As he walked, a couple of snowflakes danced in front of his eyes. He paid little attention to them. He had a purpose. He had to move forward and confront whatever was awaiting him at the end of his journey. He didn't even think about what was behind him. The thing before him was all that mattered. He walked and the wind blew around his ears. It brought along a voice, a voice he couldn't understand at all._

.*****************************************************************************************.

It had been two months since Momo's last visit, half a year since she started the school. And now she was visiting again. And once again she was starry-eyed, but this time it was different, there was also something... jaded? Mature? Scared? He couldn't name it, but he could tell it was important. Something in his Bed-Wetter Momo had changed and he didn't like it a bit.

"What happened?" he asked instead of greeting.

"Why do you think something happened?" she retorted.

"I can see it," he replied. "Something important happened."

"You're right," she sighed. "Something did happen."

"And it was bad because you aren't impatient to speak about it," he observed.

"That's true," she answered. "I don't even like thinking about it."

"So what was so bad?" he inquired.

"We were attacked by Hollows," she answered.

"What?" Toushirou jumped. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she replied. "I'm alright."

"But you don't look like it," he insisted.

"I don't feel like it," she admitted.

"Now what is that supposed to mean?"

"That means she's shaken up," Granny said coming to the porch. "Come inside, children. Some hot tea will make you feel better."

"Thanks." They settled around the table, sipping the hot drink.

"So what happened?" Toushirou asked. He was close to bursting with curiosity.

"We went to the Living World for an exercise," Momo began. "Everything was going right, we were about to head back, but then the Hollow suddenly appeared. It was terrible." She took a deep breath and fought tears for a moment. "We didn't even know it was there until it killed Kanisawa. Aoga tried to kill it, but it killed him too."

"They were your classmates?" Toushirou asked.

"No, they were there to lead the exercise," she answered.

"It killed two fully trained Shinigami?" Toushirou inquired.

"No," Momo shook her head. "They were sixth-years students."

"What were they doing there?" Toushirou questioned. "I thought only you first years went on the trip."

"They were there to oversee us," she answered. "I already told you."

"And who oversaw them?" he questioned.

"Nobody."

"What?" Toushirou jumped. "You mean to tell me they let you students go to the Living World, where Hollows are abound, only in the company of how many other students?"

"Three."

"That's stupid," he stated. "How could they think that three students would be enough if something happened?"

"Hisagi-senpai was already admitted into the Gotei 13," Momo pointed out.

"Still, this isn't enough," he insisted. "Don't they value their best students enough to protect them?"

"Such things don't normally happen," she said.

"Once is enough," he pointed out.

"Yes," she nodded staring into the space, "it is."

"So what happened then?" Toushirou prompted when Momo remained silent for too long in his opinion.

"Hisagi-senpai told us to run and tried to fight the Hollow himself. It was so huge. He stood no chance." She shivered at the memory.

"It killed him too?" Hitsugaya guessed.

"No," she shook her head. "It only wounded him. He's going to have a nasty scar on his face." She paused for a moment before continuing. "It was terrible. Everybody was running to the Senkaimon, only Hisagi stood there alone, so small in front of the Hollow. It was huge. Like several houses built on top of each other." Toushirou tried to imagine it. "And then another one appeared. It was just as big as the first one."

"Another huge Hollow?" Toushirou's eyes widened. The tale was getting grimmer by the moment.

"Yes," Momo confirmed. "It was terrible. Everybody was panicking. But then something occurred to me: Why were we running?"

"Because there was a monster chasing you?" Toushirou offered.

"Well, there was," she replied, "but why were we running? We were the chosen elite of the Academy, the students picked for their talents and trained the hardest to fight Hollows, so why were we running?"

"You didn't try to fight them?" Toushirou asked in disbelief. She nodded. "That's crazy! You could have been killed!"

"I have to agree with Toushirou," Granny spoke. "You might be talented, but you've been studying for less then half a year. What you did was reckless."

"I know," Momo looked down. "Kira-kun and Abarai-kun said so, but at the moment it seemed like the right thing to do."

"Who are Kira and Abarai?" Toushirou asked.

"My classmates," Momo answered. "We were in the same group during the exercise. They're really great guys."

"So what happened next?" he prompted.

"I turned around and ran at the Hollow. And don't even tell me how stupid that was. Kira-kun and Abarai-kun ran after me. We reached it just in time to save Hisagi-senpai. And I fired Shakkahou at its mask and it disintegrated."

"You killed a Hollow?" Toushirou asked wide-eyed.

"Yes," she confirmed.

"You're amazing."

"You're really a big girl now," Granny commented.

"We thought that was the end of it, but then the smoke cleared and we realized we were surrounded. There were giant Hollows everywhere! We thought we were done for. There was no way we could fight all of them off. I was so scared. All I could think about was 'I don't want to die.'" She took a sip from her cup. It was obvious she was fighting back tears. Even Toushirou didn't dare to say anything. Finally Momo found her composure and continued.

"We thought we were going to be eaten for sure, but then the Hollow right in front of us was suddenly cut in half. We didn't know what happened. Then somebody spoke and we turned around and there was captain Aizen with his lieutenant standing behind us!"

"The same you talked about earlier?" Toushirou inquired.

"Yes," Momo nodded, her cheeks flushing, "the one. He was so cool and powerful! The Hollows stood no chance! They dispatched them in no time."

"That's good," Toushirou said.

"Yes. And then he smiled at me and told us we all had performed admirably and then he patted my head! Again!" Now Momo was blushing so deep her face could compete with her uniform.

"Hah! You really are his fangirl!" Toushirou exclaimed.

"Now, now," Granny interjected. "It's only natural to admire somebody who just saved your life."

"Yes, I guess," he replied.

"I'm going to become his lieutenant," Momo announced.

"What?" Toushirou couldn't believe his ears.

"I'm going to train hard, so I will be worthy of serving under him," she elaborated.

"That's a worthy goal," Granny approved.

"Well," Toushirou scratched his head, "I guess you are good, but a lieutenant? Isn't that aiming a bit too high?"

"No goal is too high when the heart is young and the will is strong," Granny said.

"You see, Shirou-chan?" she smirked. "I will make it."

"If you say so, Lieutenant Bed-Wetter," he shrugged.

"Hey!" She scolded him. "Can't you let off on the stupid nickname?"

"When you stop calling me Shirou-chan!"

Granny watched them with a smile on her face. They already acted like nothing had ever happened. Children. They would always overcome anything life would thrust at them. She wished she could be so young too.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He was walking on the snow easily. Everywhere he could see, white was covering the flat ground. Only a handful of trees broke the monotony of the winter scenery. He moved through it easily, the cold couldn't touch him anymore. The wind was blowing and it was carrying a thundering voice with it. He couldn't understand its words, but he knew it was calling him. He strode purposefully through the frozen wastelands, intent on meeting its source._

.*****************************************************************************************.

Toushirou stared intently at his knee. There was nothing interesting about it. It was a perfectly normal knee. Except it hadn't been so just this morning. He had scraped it rather bad when he misjudged the jump off the roof. Momo had shown herself on a day off from the Academy. She had failed to come during her previous day off and Toushirou had wasted no time in telling her so. He had been so worried that she won't come back at all, that there had been another 'accident,' only this time nobody came in time to save the unfortunate students. But he didn't tell her that. She had been offended and let him know it. He had grumbled and jumped down the roof and that was when he had scraped his knee. Momo had fussed over him, completely needlessly in his opinion, but it still had felt nice. Then she had shown him what she had learned at school. Healing Kidou, she had called it. He was fascinated how her hands had glowed, how the energy was flowing into his body and how his wound closed in front of his eyes.

"It's just a basic technique," she had said with a smile while he was staring openmouthed. "We didn't learn any of the fancy stuff yet. But even this is useful."

The rest of her visit proceeded like it usually did. She prattled on about herself, her new friends Kira and Abarai and the oh-so-wonderful captain Aizen. Then she had bid them goodbye and disappeared through the gate again.

Toushirou was left alone, once again sitting on a rooftop and staring over the walls of Seireitei. Momo's demonstration of power made a deep impression on him. Healing Kidou, she had called it. What he wouldn't give to be able to do it too. Then he would have been able to help Granny when she had cut her hand two months ago and it had bled badly. Waiting for the wound to heal was torture for him. Granny had insisted it was nothing, but he couldn't miss her small flinches and grimaces of pain. He hated seeing her that way. But he wouldn't go to the Academy to learn, not a chance. He had no intention to attend an institution that let its student go into dangerous zones without sufficient security. That place must be run by dimwits. And it would mean leaving Granny alone and that was unthinkable.

But maybe he could do it anyway. He had seen how Momo did it. He might be able to reproduce it. And if it didn't work, he could try asking Jidanbou. The giant had usually trouble counting up to ten, but he might know something useful.

With the new resolve, he went to work. _Now how was the chant..._

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He strolled through the frozen white scenery.__ Snow and ice was everywhere he could see. The wind was blowing, but he didn't feel any cold. He knew he should find it strange, but he didn't. Somehow it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. A voice sounded like thunder in the distance. It was calling, calling for him. He wanted to answer, but the roar of the winds drowned his voice. Instead he walked forward. He wanted to meet the unknown speaker._

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Stop accusing my grandson, people!" Granny ordered with much more force than Toushirou had thought possible. He had seen her angry before, quite often at him, but never like this. He was only glad that her ire wasn't directed at him. He could only imagine how did Elder Arata feel. Despite feeling a bit unwell lately, Granny was still a formidable woman. Very formidable. The only reason why Arata wasn't shaking in his sandals or running away was the mob standing behind him, at least Toushirou couldn't see any other explanation from his position hiding behind Granny.

"Two people saw him," the old man stated.

"Saw him do what?" Granny prompted.

"He broke the roof on Rikuto's house," Arata answered.

"And who are the two witnesses?" she inquired.

Forward stepped Tatsukichi and Ayumi. Toushirou didn't get to see them often ever since Momo left. But he didn't miss them, they were never his friends, only Momo's.

"Hello, children," Granny greeted them sweetly, but Toushirou could hear the venom hiding deep under the layers of sugar. "I haven't seen you in... how long it was? Two years? The time is running so fast. You could have stopped by even though Momo isn't here. I would always welcome you." The two teenagers didn't look too excited to be there and they kept shooting half-angry and half-frightened glares at Toushirou.

"This isn't a reunion," Arata reminded them. "Describe what you saw." The two youths nodded.

"We saw him break Rikuto's roof," Tatsukichi said.

"Yes," Ayumi nodded. "He made a huge hole into it."

"My little Toushirou?" Granny raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Tatsukichi confirmed. "It was him. No-one else has hair like him."

"Really?" Granny raised one grey eyebrow. "And how did such a small boy make such a big hole?"

"He did!" Ayumi insisted.

"He did something weird," Tatsukichi added.

"He blasted the roof apart," Ayumi said.

"My little Toushirou?" Granny asked in disbelief. "He can't do anything like that."

"But he did!" Tatsukichi protested. "He was always weird."

"Just because somebody is weird, doesn't mean they did something wrong. Understood, young man?" Granny scowled. Tatsukichi took a step back. "And I would appreciate if you didn't try to put blame on my grandson anymore."

"But..."

"And if you absolutely have to accuse somebody, next time come up with something believable," she added. Then she turned to the crowd. "And if you don't want anything else, you might leave," she suggested. She followed with a stare so scary, that the mob actually complied. Arata grumbled something trying to save face, but even he seemed relieved to be able to get away. Toushirou stared in wonder. He had always known his Granny was intimidating, but he had no idea just how much. He made a mental note to never, ever give her a reason to use this tone on him.

"And now, young man," Granny said turning to him, "care to tell me about the roof?" Toushirou gulped. It looked like she already had a reason.

"I didn't want to!" he blurted out.

"So you did it?" Only now he realized his mistake.

"Yes," he admitted.

"Why?"

"It was an accident!"

"I wonder what kind of accident could have made so much damage," Granny mused aloud. Toushirou had the sinking feeling that she already knew the answer. But he couldn't tell her. He couldn't let her know.

He had spent over a week trying to perform the Kidou Hinamori had shown him. It had taken him that long to admit that he was going nowhere. The next logical step was to ask Jidanbou for advice, but it turned out he wasn't good at Kidou (big surprise there). But Toushirou had been able to pry one little tidbit of information from him; the gatekeeper told him to look for the power inside his heart and let it flow. He wasn't sure whether it was correct, but he decided to try it anyway. After another week, he thought he felt something. It made him ecstatic. He tried again and this time something happened. A beam of light shot out of his outstretched hands and hit the roof of a nearby house. He stared at the resulting hole in surprise. Had he really done that? There was little time to ponder over it. The sound of rapidly approaching voices told him that he should make himself scarce. He ran and hid at home, hoping he wouldn't be linked to it, but then Arata and the others appeared.

And now he was kneeling before Granny, squirming under her gaze and wracking his brain for a believable excuse.

"So how was it?" the elderly woman asked patiently.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again." His ability to come up with excuses seemed to have completely deserted him.

"See that you don't," Granny said. She decided to let the issue of how exactly did Toushirou destroy the roof slide. "And to make sure you don't get into any more trouble, you'll be doing all the cleaning in the house for the next month."

"Yes." Toushirou was glad he got away with only this. He honestly didn't want to tell Granny the truth. He didn't want her to know that he secretly wanted to become a shinigami and even did a bit of training on his own. He didn't want her to think he wanted to abandon her, because he didn't. She was more important to him than his dreams of adventure. For her, he would stop with his attempts. Or maybe he should just find a better training location... no. He wouldn't take the chance. Granny was that important to him.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He walked through the frozen, barren, white landscape again. The wind was howling around him, but he could barely hear it. The calling voice rumbled like thunder over it, drowning out all other sounds.__ It was calling for him. If he concentrated enough, he could almost understand some of the words, but the overall meaning was still eluding him. He purposefully made his way forward. The winter weather wasn't bothering him a bit. He didn't give it a thought anymore. It didn't even occur to him that the cold should bother him. Everything he cared about was meeting the source of the voice._

.*****************************************************************************************.

He was sitting on the porch, enjoying his watermelon. He concentrated on its sweet, watery taste, trying to ignore the girl sitting beside him. It was one of the rare occasions when Momo visited and he thought he should be happy for it. But he wasn't. He couldn't be when all she talked about was Aizen. Her precious, perfect captain Aizen. She barely remembered to ask how they were doing and wasn't really interested in hearing their answer. How they could be possibly doing, alone in a hut in one of the nicest parts of Rukongai? It's not like anything ever happened here. Toushirou thought she didn't even notice how Granny got even thinner since her latest visit. It had been quite some time. But what interest would be some poor wandering soul to the high and mighty student of the advanced class on the reijutsu Academy? No, as she sat there in her fancy school uniform, her slice of watermelon untouched, all she talked about was Aizen. It was then he decided he hated the man for stealing his sister from him. It didn't matter that he had saved her life once, when he had taken her away afterwards.

"Are you even listening, Shirou-chan?" Momo's angry voice brought him out of his musings. He turned to her and spat the watermelon seeds on her pristine white shirt.

"Don't call me Shirou-chan," he growled. She scowled at him, brushing away the seeds.

"I'll stop calling you Shirou-chan, when you go to the same school as me," she retorted.

"Who would ever want to?" he shot back. _Who would look after Granny when the both of us are gone, _was what he really wanted to say. _Can't you see she is unwell? _But he held his tongue. He couldn't bring himself to wipe her sweet smile from her face, which would undoubtedly happen if he told her. But maybe not. Momo wasn't the type to worry over anything for long. She always believed things would get better. Worries and disasters had no place in her rose-tinted world. That was just the kind of person Momo was. Sometimes he wanted to shatter her world of dreams, but he could never bring himself to. She was still his Bed-Wetter Momo, no matter how much she was currently hung up on Aizen. He only hoped she would get over him soon, even though all evidence pointed against it. He couldn't imagine it ending well. No-one could be as perfect as she perceived him and he didn't want to see her heartbroken once she realized it. But there was nothing he could do.

"Then I'll call you Shirou-chan forever," she smiled triumphantly. He scowled. He so much wanted to say yes, to go to the Academy and take the entrance test, or at least ask her to show him the Kidou she had used so long ago and inquire how did it work. But he couldn't. The thought of Granny lying indoors, taking a nap because she didn't have the strength to stay awake all day, stopped him. He couldn't do it to her. Never. No matter how much it pained him.

"Bed-wetter Momo," he spat. "Who ever cares?"

.*****************************************************************************************.

_The frozen plain looked exactly like before.__ Endless wasteland of snow and ice and jagged shapes that were probably mountains on the horizon. He now knew it just as well as the interior of Granny's house. He didn't even look around._

"_**Come,"**__ a thundering voice called. He nodded and his feet moved forward on their own. He wanted to meet the speaker. He felt he'd see him right after the next turn of the road, but it wasn't that easy. No matter how long he walked, the voice didn't become any stronger. Then suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks. There was something moving in front of him. He couldn't recognize the shape, but it was huge. It moved towards him._

.*****************************************************************************************.

It's been five years, Toushirou mused. Five yeas since Momo abandoned us. He watched her retreating back getting smaller and smaller after one of her progressively rarer and rarer visits. He wondered where did their previous closeness go. She used to visit every chance she got at the beginning, now she barely remembered. It was a small miracle that she showed up so soon after the term began. And all she did when she visited, the same as every other time, was prattle on about how awesome her friends were. Kira and Abarai. For what he had heard about them, they were decent guys, but he couldn't help but feel jealous about them. Oh, and Aizen. The perfect and wonderful captain Aizen. She never forgot to add something about him, no matter whether she had something to say or not.

And not even once did she ask how did they fare. She automatically assumed they were doing well. Nothing ever happened in Junrin'an, so why should they be an exception. The fact that Granny was getting older and thinner somehow went right over her head. It might be because she had grown up, if only a little, so she found it natural that everything else seemed smaller. The thought made him grimace. He didn't grow at all in the time she was gone. The line on the doorframe was proof enough of it.

He looked into the darkness of the house, where Granny was sitting. She looked so old and frail. How could have Momo missed it? It was so obvious to him. But then, Momo had always watched the world through rose-tinted glasses.

Suddenly he couldn't take it anymore. He had to get out of there, or the walls of the house would close up on him and the shadows within would suffocate him. Or worse, he'd break into tears in front of Granny.

"I'm going to buy some amanattou," he announced. "We're almost out." It wasn't exactly the truth, but she didn't call him on it. And even if there was some, it could disappear with amazing speed anytime. Toushirou found himself often hungry these days. It was another thing that set him apart from the other residents. He picked his money pouch and ran into the street. He spent a good deal of time just wandering aimlessly through the streets, watching the clouds and avoiding people and their stares. Then he realized that it was almost time to return home. He headed for the food stand and placed his order.

The shopkeeper packed the amanattou grudgingly and Toushirou gave him a coin in payment. He then extended his hand for the return change.

"Here's your change, 3 kan," the man grumbled dropping the coins on the counter. "And go right home from here, I don't want to see your face any more than I have to."

Toushirou sighed and swept the coins from the counter. Before he could put them back into his pouch, a loud female voice sounded from behind.

"Hey! Is that any way to treat your customers?" Toushirou turned around. His head came into contact with something soft, but unyielding, and he was flung back into the counter. He hit the back of his head painfully and was knocked to the ground hard. He massaged the wounded spot, fighting back tears. No blood, good. He thought he had torn the skin open for sure.

"You think you can treat him like that because he's a kid?" the newcomer continued. "I would have never thought there were such rude people here."

Toushirou finally got a good look on her. The first thing he noticed was that she was dressed like a shinigami, complete with a zanpakutou. She also had very nice honey hair and a pink scarf tied around her neck. Then she turned around and he could see she was a beautiful woman with a pretty face and blue eyes and the biggest bust he had ever seen. _Is that what I bumped into? _He mused. _I should be cautious around it._

He had barely the time to finish the thought when the lady reached down, pulled on his yukata and lifted him into the air. He really hated when people did that. Before he could tell her so, she started ranting at him.

"And how long are you going to cry on the ground? Be a man and stand up for yourself!" It really, really pissed him off.

"And just who knocked me down?" he yelled into her face. "And I wasn't crying! Let me go!" The woman just stared at him. "I said let me go!" He swatted away her offending arm. He could sense something uncoiling in him, some strange feeling (was it power?) trying to get out.

The woman dropped him. He landed on his feet and ran away.

"Wait!" he heard her shout, but he paid her no heed. He turned around a corner and disappeared in the maze of the streets. He wandered around aimlessly until it got nearly dark. Only then he returned home. Granny looked at him questioningly, but he didn't tell her about the strange encounter. There was no reason to. The shinigami woman would go back to Seireitei and everything would return to how it was before, only the shopkeeper would be even ruder to him. It was then that he realized that he had forgotten the change in the shop. He grimaced. There was no chance to get it back now and three kan could have bought him a lot of amanattou.

So it was in a somber mood he went to sleep that evening.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Matsumoto Rangiku stood in the middle of the street. The strange boy had disappeared and there was little chance she would find him in the labyrinth that was Rukongai. She didn't know this district well, she barely ever ventured here. In fact, the last time was probably shortly after she had graduated from the Academy. It was pure chance that she had stopped by now, on the way back from a patrol and decided to wander around a bit.

The boy at the stall had caught her attention. First it was his white hair shining like a lighthouse. Then she thought she might have felt spiritual power from him. That was why she had acted when the shopkeeper had been bullying him. And then, when he had hit her arm, that was definitely reiatsu and not a weak one. She had a bruise on her forearm to prove it.

The kid was very strong, especially for his age. She could have just forgotten all about him and gone back to her squad, but despite her reputation she was a responsible shinigami, at least when she wanted to. And that was why she couldn't just let it go. The kid needed training and it was up to her to invite him into the Academy. She didn't want to let him wait until some other random shinigami encountered him and recognized his potential. And besides, the boy interested her.

That was why she found herself wandering the streets of Junrin'an, searching for traces of his reiatsu. The night has fallen, but she didn't give up. She was a stubborn woman. Yet she was about to call it a day when she finally felt it.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He__ was back on the plain from his dreams. The snowing wasn't so hard and he could see more of the scenery. The mountains seemed taller and closer than before. He stood on the frozen ground and took a look around. And froze. There was a dragon right in front of him. A huge dragon with scales the color of ice was poised elegantly on the snow, his wings spread wide, like he was about to jump into the air and fly right at him. Yet he wasn't scared._

"_What are you?" he shouted._

"_**Boy! I am..."**__ he couldn't understand the last word._

"_What are you saying?" he yelled. "I can't hear you!"_

"_**My name is..."**_

"_I can't hear you!"_

"_**Come,**__** child."**__ said the icy dragon. He made a step forward. The ground suddenly shook._

.*****************************************************************************************.

He came to. He was at home, lying on his futon, and the crazy shinigami woman from before was shaking his shoulder. He noticed her enormous cleavage was dangerously close to his face. He felt irritated at her. She had woken him from the middle of his dream.

"You, from this afternoon," he growled.

"Suppress your reiatsu when you sleep, boy," she commanded.

"What are you talking about?" he scowled.

"It seems like your grandmother's cold," she pointed out. He looked at Granny in alarm. Was something wrong with her?

She was shivering and her breath was coming out in white puffs of mist. There was frost on her blanket and on the ground around her too. Now he noticed it, there was an even thicker layer of frost and ice around him, but it wasn't bothering him. _The dreams of snow and ice and the dragon,_ he realized._ Is this my doing?_ Suddenly he felt cold inside. He had thought he had been helping his grandmother, but what if he was actually hurting her? The thought was too terrifying to finish.

"Boy, you should become a shinigami," the lady spoke, interrupting his train of thoughts.

"What?" he blinked.

"Strong children like you must learn how to control their power," she continued. "I'll tell you, just like this, you'll directly kill your grandmother with your power."

"What?" The prospect scared him. Was she telling the truth? Was it really his fault? Did he really make all the ice? Then how comes he had never noticed it before? Did it always melt before morning? And why didn't Granny say anything? What if the ice was the shinigami's doing and she was trying to trick him?

Matsumoto could see that the boy wasn't convinced. But she had to convince him somehow, otherwise she would have the old woman on her conscience. And she didn't even want to think about what it would do to the boy. But what should she do?

Come to think of it, why was his reiatsu so out of control during his sleep? She had barely noticed it when she had first met him, but it shone to her like a beacon once he was asleep and it had dropped again once she had woken him up. Asleep and dreaming, if she had judged correctly from his tossing on the futon. There was an idea. It was a long shot, but she had to try.

"You can hear a voice, can't you?" It was rare for shinigami to be able to contact their zanpakutou without several years of training under their belts and only very few prodigies were able to learn their names while still at school. Somebody being able to hear their zanpakutou before even beginning their training was unheard of. She had felt extremely stupid saying it, but then the kid nodded. _Amazing,_ was the only thing she thought.

"You have to find out where the voice is coming from," she continued, not allowing her surprise to show on her face.

_That's what I was trying to do before you woke me up, _Toushirou though, but said nothing.

"You have to learn how to handle your power. And that is done only by becoming a shinigami. I'll say it only once, boy." She sat back on her heels and observed what effect her words had on the child.

Toushirou was silent. He understood everything the woman had told him. He had instinctively known that he had to learn more about the dragon, get to know his name. He only had no idea how to do it. And now he was told that it was his zanpakutou spirit. He knew about them. The last time Momo had visited she had prattled on about how she was finally able to hear hers, though she wasn't able to make out anything it had said.

So now the question was: Should he listen to the lady and abandon his Granny, or should he stay with her and...

As he looked at the slowly melting ice, he realized that the decision had already been made.

.*****************************************************************************************.

End notes: If there was too much drama for your tastes, I apologize. Next chapter has more action. and it's also almost finished, so it should come out soon.


	2. The name of the dragon

**Author's Note: **So here comes the second chapter. And it comes with an ilustration. You can find it on my DeviantArt profile. Link is on my Profile Page. It shows a scene from the end of the chapter, so read first, look later.

Third chapter is still being written, so it won't come as fast.

**Disclaímer:** I don't own Bleach.

**On the frozen plain 2****: The name of the Dragon**

.*****************************************************************************************.

The Shun'o Reijutsu Academy was huge. That was the first impression Toushirou had upon seeing it. The building covered the area of several town blocks in Rukongai and was taller than the tallest trees he'd ever seen. Much taller. The second impression was that it was still night and everybody inside was asleep and they weren't going to be happy when they woke them up. The crazy woman had dragged him off the moment he had agreed to become a shinigami, not letting him wake up Granny or change from his sleeping clothes.

The crazy woman, who still didn't consider it prudent to introduce herself, dragged him to the main entrance. He had to run to keep pace with her. But it was still better than when she had carried him. She had somehow moved faster than he had thought possible and it had made him queasy.

The woman dragged him towards the entrance. To his surprise, they weren't the only people there. The security was just dressing down a really drunk student, who was trying to sneak back inside in the wee hours of the morning. So they wouldn't wake the people, but something told him that it would have been better. The drunkard puking on the guardsman's feet couldn't have improved his disposition any.

"What are you doing here?" the man barked when he noticed them. "And who are you?"

"Matsumoto Rangiku," she introduced herself. "Third Division, Fourth Seat. I brought in a new student."

"At this time of the night?" the guard scowled. "I haven't heard anything about it"

"You couldn't have," she replied. "I just found him."

"Isn't he a bit too young to be a student?" the guard asked dubiously.

"He's good enough," Matsumoto replied.

"I'm right here," Toushirou muttered, but they ignored him.

"If you say so," the man shrugged. "What's his name?" Matsumoto turned to the boy.

"Hey, boy, what's your name?"

"Hitsugaya Toushirou."

"You know that the school year started two weeks ago?" the man said.

"Yes," Toushirou nodded.

"Then why don't you wait for the next one, like all the other students?" the man suggested. "Or better, wait for a few decades. You have the time."

"He's a special case," Matsumoto stated.

"So?" the guard raised an eyebrow.

"He needs the training now."

"So?" the guard shrugged.

"Just let us in and let the Headmaster decide," the woman said.

"You want to wake him up at this hour?" The man's eyes widened.

"Why not?" she shrugged, which made her assets bounce. The guard found himself staring. "Just let us in and let us deal with it." The guard nodded. If he had to be awake at this hour with his feet covered in vomit, why not make someone else miserable as well.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Toushirou wouldn't have believed it if somebody told him, but they didn't wake the headmaster up. Apparently he was in the habit of training every morning and was about to head for the training fields. Toushirou privately considered him crazy. Who would voluntarily get up when the eastern horizon barely lightened? But he reckoned the headmaster had probably lots of duties during the day and this was the only free time he could find. Despite the ungodly hour, he seemed happy to see Matsumoto, or at least that's what Toushirou concluded form the look he gave her cleavage.

"So what brings you here today, Matsumoto-yonseki," he greeted.

"He does," she pointed at Toushirou.

"Oh?" the headmaster raised an eyebrow. To Hitsugaya it looked like he noticed him only now. "What did he do? I didn't know we had such small students."

"You don't," she answered. "I want to enter him."

"Now?" he asked. "I'm afraid you're coming a bit late, the term has already started. And besides, he's far too young." Toushirou scowled.

"Can't you feel his reiatsu?" she asked. "He's strong. Plenty strong."

The headmaster concentrated for a moment. "Yes, he does have reiatsu. But that doesn't explain why did you drag him here now. He can wait for the next year, just like everybody else." Toushirou wondered why did everybody have to say the same thing.

"No, he can't wait," Matsumoto shook her head. "His reiatsu is badly out of control. He has to learn to contain it now."

"It doesn't seem that way to me," the man said dubiously.

"It's now that he's awake," the woman explained. "It gets completely wild when he's asleep."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow. "That's unusual."

"I think he can already hear his zanpakutou spirit," she announced.

"What?" the headmaster's eyes widened. "Now you're pulling my leg. It takes years to contact one's zanpakutou. Many of our students can't do it until after they graduate."

"Then you see how it's important he begins learning now," she pointed out.

"I don't see how do you expect me to believe it," he replied. "I've heard many ridiculous stories during my teaching career, but this one takes the cake."

"Look," she sighed, "just test him and you'll see I'm right."

"Do you even realize what do you want?" the headmaster asked. "It's not that easy to assemble the committee. All the teachers have their duties. Take the kid away and come back next year."

Toushirou was shocked. Next year? Next year? His Granny didn't have a year. He might freeze her unconsciously within a month. No, he couldn't risk it. He wouldn't return. He'll go to live in the wilderness and Granny would be completely alone and all that because of the stupid old man in front of him. Suddenly he felt very angry.

The headmaster, who was about to slam the door in their faces, suddenly paused. He watched wide-eyed as the corridor was suddenly covered in frost. The next moment the reiatsu registered. It was high. Enough for a seated officer. Then he realized it was coming form the boy who was glaring daggers at him.

"Well," he scratched his chin, "I think we should test him." Matsumoto gave him an 'I told you so' glare.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Toushirou had thought they would begin immediately, but apparently it took time to prepare everything. And the headmaster didn't want to wake up anybody. He found himself in the care of one of the school employees, some miss Taira. The crazy shinigami lady that had dragged him here had wished him luck and returned to her squad the moment the headmaster had agreed to test him. He muttered something about it being too dangerous to have her around his students. Toushirou privately agreed.

Taira-san was a quiet, elderly woman, who just told him to sit down and be quiet and spent the time reading a book. Toushirou was immensely bored, having nothing to do but watch the sunrise. Then it was time for breakfast and she took him to the cantina. He hoped he might see Momo there, but the cantina was huge, the students countless, and he didn't get even a glimpse of her. But at least he could eat a better meal than he had in years. Once he was finished, she took him into a classroom and told him to wait. It made him immensely bored, because he didn't have even the sunrise to watch now.

Finally the teachers were assembled and the testing could begin. Well, first all of them had to accept that yes, this little shrimp was really trying to get into the Academy outside the regular admittance procedure. Several of them grumbled, but most of them just wanted to have it over with and pushed for the first test to be administered immediately. Toushirou hadn't known what to expect, but the sheets of papers with questions weren't it. Some of them were ridiculously easy, but other dealt with topics Toushirou had never heard of. He tried to answer them as best as he could and wondered how did they determine whether he could be a good shinigami or not. He mused whether his answers would be enough to gain him admittance. He knew he got loads of them wrong. But then Jidanbou had somehow passed the test so the grading couldn't be possibly too harsh.

Next came the physical tests. He had to show how fast he could run and how high could he jump and how heavy objects could he lift. The instructors watched with unreadable expressions and wrote notes into their notebooks. Toushirou was itching to know what they thought about his performance. Then followed the test of kenjutsu. He was given a wooden sword and told to perform some basic stances. That was worse. He had never held a sword before and he was sure he messed up as soon as he gripped the handle. But the stances themselves weren't too hard. It got worse when he was told to spar with one of the teachers 'to test his reflexes.' He tried to block the man's strikes the best he could, but after a couple of exchanges he realized he couldn't. The man was simply too fast and too strong for him. Toushirou's whole body was aching by the time they ended.

Then came the last and most important part of the test: measuring his reiatsu. He wondered why did this part come last. If somebody failed it, there would have been no need for any of the other tests, was there? So doing everything else beforehand was just stupid in his opinion. But then, it wasn't the stupidest thing the shinigami ever did, so it was probably normal.

He wondered what the measuring was going to be. Did they have some Kidou for it or did they use some device? He was curious. Therefore he was a bit disappointed when he was simply told to raise his reiatsu as much as he could. And he was also panicked. Just how did one raise their reiatsu? Nobody ever told him. But he had done it before, only unconsciously. So what did he do back then? He remembered his failed attempt at Kidou and breaking Rikuto's roof. He remembered how he was angry at the Headmaster and covered the corridor in frost. And he remembered his dreams about the plane of ice and the dragon inhabiting it. He could do it. He had to do it. His Granny's life depended on it.

He took a deep breath and concentrated. He knew there was power inside him so he imagined it flowing out, forming a strong stream, spreading around and covering everything in a layer of frost. He imagined himself being the dragon of ice he had met on the frozen plain, strong and powerful, spreading his wings, soaring through the sky, commanding the ice and snow with a single swipe of his wings. He felt something within him moving. That was it! That was what he had felt before. He concentrated on the feeling growing, on letting it spread through his whole body and beyond. It was surprisingly easy. The sensation grew and grew and he suddenly felt incredibly strong, like he could run for a thousand miles or break a tree with a single hit. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard the dragon's approving roar.

Then a different voice entered his consciousness. He ignored it. He was feeling too good and didn't want to be bothered with anything else. Then somebody shook him. He tried to ignore it too, but whoever was shaking him was persistent. Toushirou opened his eyes. He didn't even remember when did he close them, but it wasn't important. What was more important was that the academy courtyard they were standing on turned into a winter garden. The ground was covered in white and it was snowing. _'It had been sunny earlier,' _Toushirou remembered. _'And it's spring.'_

"Stop it!" the teacher shaking him commanded. _'How?' _Toushirou thought. He tried just imagining the flow stopping. Surprisingly enough, it worked. He felt the power leaving him. He didn't like it. It made him feel small and weak. And tired. He definitely felt tired.

"That was quite something," one of the assembled teachers commented.

"That it was," another agreed. "Enough for class one."

"Don't get hasty," the first one said. "We have to take into consideration his results form the other tests."

"What does that mean?" Toushirou asked.

"You passed. We'll tell you more later."

.*****************************************************************************************.

Toushirou sighed in relief. The testing was finally over and he was accepted. And he was even entered into the advanced class. He compared it to Momo's acceptance. His certainly took a lot less time. He wondered whether the instructors were always so effective or only when Matsumoto was breathing down their necks. Then one of the teachers, Toushirou couldn't recall his name, he'd met too many new people today, took him to pick his school uniform. The lady behind the counter informed him that there wasn't any uniform in his size, not even a girl's one, and that she'd have to adjust some. Then she took his measures, which included a lot more physical contact than he was comfortable with, and told him to come again after dinner. Then he was shown his new room and introduced to his new roommate, Hiro. At dinner he looked for Momo again, but once again he failed. Then he went to pick up his uniform and put it on. It made him feel like a real shinigami in training. After that the worst ordeal of the day awaited him: explaining everything to Granny.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He walked towards the porch of Granny's house with trepidation, his brand new student uniform feeling uncomfortable. The seamstress had been in a hurry so she didn't have the time to add all the proper insignia on it. He couldn't help but tug at it with every other step. He knew he was procrastinating, but he really didn't want to face what was awaiting him inside. The night before the crazy woman had dragged him off without any word the moment he had said yes. She didn't even let him say goodbye to Granny. Tact certainly wasn't her strongest suite. Now the hectic day of his acceptance was over, he had to come back and explain. And hope Granny wouldn't kill him.

Taking a deep breath he pushed the door open. Granny was sitting on the floor, looking at him calmly. Somehow that made him feel even worse than if she were angry. He made a few steps towards her and then dropped to his knees.

"My, my," she spoke, "so you finally came home? Care to tell me what was so urgent you had to leave without even telling your grandmother?"

And he told her. He had thought he would have trouble telling her, but suddenly the words came to him on their own and spilled from his mouth like water from a broken dam. He told her about the shinigami woman he had encountered yesterday and how she visited him again during the night. He repeated what she had told him and how she had dragged him to the Academy and about the entrance test. All the time he was staring at the ground, not daring to meet her eyes.

"I see," she commented when he had finished. "I'm glad." Toushirou sat up in shock. She was glad? She wasn't going to reprimand him for leaving her without a word?

"You've been holding back all this time, haven't you?" How did she know? He pretended he wasn't interested in being a shinigami. Was he that obvious? "Because you've been afraid I'd be lonely here by myself," she added. He could only stare. She really knew him better than he knew himself. "But the fact that you've denied yourself just because of me... to granny, that's the most painful thing."

Toushirou's heart clenched. Had he been hurting Granny with something else that his reiatsu? He didn't want that.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Toushirou," Granny comforted him. "You can finally do what you want. That's the most important thing for me."

"Thank you," he stammered.

"There's no need to be so dramatic, Toushirou," she smiled reassuringly. "We aren't parting forever. You'll come back, just like Momo, won't you?"

"I'll come more often." The answer was out before he could think about it. He couldn't let Granny get lonely.

"You don't have to," she replied. "Find your own life and friends. It is unbecoming of a young man to hold onto his granny's skirt. And write home from time to time. I'll send you some amanattou."

"Thanks," Toushirou smiled. Her promise made him feel warm inside. It occurred to him that maybe he wasn't so worried about Granny being lonesome, but himself.

"And now go," she shooed him. "You don't want to get in trouble on the first day for breaking curfew, do you?"

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He was walking through the plain of ice again. This time, he wasn't afraid anymore. He knew what this was. And he knew what he had to do. He strode purposefully forward, searching for the dragon. All around him, snow was falling and wind was blowing, but somehow the snowstorm seemed less severe than the last time._

_Finally, after what felt like an eternity of searching, he reached his goal. The dragon stood there, tall and proud, completely unfazed by the raging blizzard._

"_What's your name?" Toushirou shouted. The dragon rumbled in response. The boy couldn't make it out._

.*****************************************************************************************.

He awoke to somebody shaking his shoulder. He at first couldn't recognize the room he was in or the person leaning over him, but then he remembered. He was in the dormitory of the Academy and the man was his roommate.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"What's the matter?" Hiro, if he remembered correctly, echoed sarcastically. "I should be the one asking that! How do you explain this?" He swiped his arm around in a wide gesture. Toushirou sat up and took a look. He wasn't surprised to discover a layer of ice covering the entire room.

"Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly. "I can't really do anything about that." He laid back, wanting to get some more sleep. He didn't get much the previous night and now he was really tired.

"And just what do you think you are doing?" Hiro asked.

"Trying to sleep," Hitsugaya replied.

"Trying to freeze me again?" the older male corrected. "In case you didn't notice, it's cold here!"

"Oh." He didn't understand why he didn't realize it earlier. Probably sleep deprivation.

"You know, I want to sleep too but I can't do so when I'm freezing," Hiro announced. "So what should I do?"

"Take another blanket?" Toushirou suggested.

"I know about something better: I'll get you out of my room."

"What?"

Once again, Toushirou found himself being dragged somewhere during the night. _'This is becoming a habit', _he thought. At least Hiro didn't simply throw him out on his backside. He had the decency to find the Academy employee on duty that night, who happened to be Toushirou's old acquaintance miss Taira, and explain the situation to her. Hitsugaya was then assigned into an empty room that hadn't been in use for some time. It was dusty there, but he didn't care. He was tired. He'd tidy it up tomorrow. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya was cursing himself. He had nearly overslept. And he still felt like he didn't get any rest last night. And what was worse, in his haste to get to the classroom on time, he had to forgo breakfast, so he was hungry as well as tired, yesterday's dinner being a distant memory. And what was even worse, the Academy was a virtual maze. He had no idea where the correct classroom was and he had no roommate to ask. _'Why can't they put up a map here or something? Do they fear a Hollow would see it and learn where to find the tastiest students?'_ He pondered whether he should ask someone. He had no idea which of these students were first years. Then he concluded it didn't really matter. They all had to have been first years at some point of time. He asked the closest person. He looked at him oddly, but he pointed the direction. Yet it wasn't that easy to actually find the room. When Hitsugaya finally slipped through the door, the class was already in session.

The teacher turned from where he was scribbling something on the blackboard. Toushirou didn't remember seeing him yesterday.

"Ah, so our newest addition finally decided to grace us with his presence," he commented dryly. "Being late is a bad habit. And being late on your first day is especially bad."

"Yes, sir," Toushirou replied with his eyes downcast. "I'm sorry."

"Did I say you could speak?" the teacher scolded him. "Now take a seat and don't make any more commotion. The students are here to learn, you know? You were given quite the honor to be admitted so young and to the advanced class, no less, and you're doing nothing to prove you're worth it."

Hitsugaya nodded mutely and scanned the classroom for the closest open spot. He located one next to a pretty brown-haired girl.

"May I..." he whispered. She nodded. He sat down next to her. Then he realized that the desk was too high for him and he had to kneel on the chair to be able to write.

"Don't worry about Kenshin-sensei," the girl whispered conspiratorially. "He's grumpy, but he isn't bad."

"Quiet back there!" Kenshin called from the back of the class. After that, Toushirou spent the rest of the lesson trying to understand what it was about.

Finally the lesson was over. He now knew there were lots of different kinds of Hollows, but he didn't learn anything remotely helpful with his reiatsu-controlling problem.

"So what's your name?" a sweet voice interrupted his musings. He turned and realized it was the girl he had been sitting next to speaking.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou," he introduced himself.

"I'm Asagi Yumiko," she replied. "Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you too," he responded slightly surprised. People usually weren't pleased to meet him.

"So where are you from?" she inquired.

"Junrin'an," he answered.

"I don't want to be rude, but why did you come to school so young?"

"Well, um..." he didn't know what to say. Certainly not the truth. He wasn't sure he'd ever tell it to anyone.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she smiled reassuringly. "And we should be going or we'll be late for the Kenjutsu class."

Toushirou's eyes lightened up. Kenjutsu? He'll finally get to learn something that would help him. He hurried after Yumiko. He didn't want to be late for two classes in a row.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The class filed into the dojo. Toushirou couldn't help but feel impressed at the room's size. He didn't get enough time to admire it. The instructor soon came and ordered them to pick their bokken. Hitsugaya was disappointed as he surveyed the wooden sword. He had so hoped to get a real zanpakutou, so he could try to learn its name like the crazy lady had told him, but it looked like he'd have to wait longer.

The sensei made them stand in line and practice stances and strikes. Toushirou had at first trouble holding the too-big hilt right, but he caught on quickly. As he repeated the movements again and again, he caught himself smiling. He had the feeling that swordsmanship would come natural to him. It was like he was born to do that.

Than the sensei called that the individual practice was over and it was time for practicing in pairs. Everybody quickly found a partner, only Toushirou found himself the odd one out. The instructor saw it and said he'd have to practice alone. Hitsugaya scowled, but there was nothing he could do about it.

But less than a minute later he heard a scream. He quickly turned around to see what was going on. Yumiko was sitting on the ground, clutching her arm. It seemed that her partner, he recognized him as Hiro, had hit her too hard. The instructor took one look at her and then sent her to the infirmary. Then he called at Hitsugaya to go practice with Hiro.

"Do I really have to practice with the kid?" his used-to-be roommate complained. The sensei confirmed that he did. "Well, guess I'll have to go easy on you then, little one."

Now it was Hitsugaya's turn to scowl. It was then and there he decided he didn't like Hiro. Not only did he throw him out of their room, which he could understand, he called him short, which he didn't like, he also hurt Yumiko, who had been nice to him. He understood it was probably an accident, but he didn't care. He assumed the ready stance.

First it was Hiro's turn to attack. He really did go easy on him. His strike was slow and weak and Hitsugaya had no problem stopping it. Next it was Toushirou's turn. He swiped with all his might. Hiro blocked, but from the widening of his eyes Toushirou could tell he didn't expect such a strong blow.

"Whoa," the older boy commented, "It seems you have some strength. I guess I won't have to go so easy on you."

His next strike was much harder. Toushirou barely had the time to put his bokken into its path, but the force behind the strike had pushed it on his shoulder. He hissed in pain.

"Are you hurt? Don't you need to go to the infirmary too?" Hiro asked. It sounded genuinely concerned.

"No," Toushirou replied. He wasn't hurt. He'd have a bruise, but he still could move. "We'll continue." He gripped the handle harder. There was no way he was quitting. He didn't realize it, but he raised his reiatsu unconsciously. Therefore he was surprised when his next attack broke Hiro's bokken and hit him in the stomach hard. The other student doubled over in pain and fell on his posterior. Specks of blood appeared on his white uniform.

"I didn't want to do that!" Toushirou apologized.

"What's going on?" the instructor appeared, alerted by the spike in reiatsu.

"I hit him, I didn't want to," Hitsugaya babbled. Hiro said nothing. Toushirou's attack knocked out his breath and he had a hard time catching it again.

"Control your reiatsu!" the teacher snapped. It was only now that Toushirou realized that his bokken was covered in frost. Oh no, he did it again. He had hurt another person with his out-of-control reiatsu. He had entered the Academy especially to prevent it, but here he was doing it again, and on his first day of classes. He had to tone it down, but how? He didn't realize it, but his panic made his reiatsu spike even higher.

"I said control it!" the instructor shouted again. "Don't you know how?" Toushirou shook his head. He really didn't know. He came here to learn it, not to be yelled at. He absentmindedly noticed that the amount of frost in the dojo was increasing.

The sensei realized that there was serious trouble. It wasn't the first time a student lost control of his reiatsu in his classroom, but never before had the reiatsu such direct physical effect. He also saw that the child in front of him wasn't going to calm down on his own. In fact, he seemed to work himself into a panic attack. He laid his hands on the boy's shoulders and hissed in pain. He didn't expect them to be so cold. He had to raise his own spiritual pressure to withstand it.

"Calm down," he said softly. "It's all right. There is no danger." It didn't seem like his words had any impact on the student. His breathing was quick and shallow and his eyes were unfocused, staring through the teacher. It was like he didn't even see what was right in front of him.

Toushirou really had trouble seeing what was right in front of him. He could see the silhouette of the teacher, but it was faint. His vision was superimposed with the image of an icy wasteland. The instructor's words were drowned in the sound of a dragon roaring. He couldn't understand either of them. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't. What was going on? He had no idea, this had never happened before. He wanted it to end, but he didn't know how.

Something shook. No, somebody was shaking him. Who? He had to concentrate. Ah, it was the teacher. Yes, he was in the dojo, having his first kenjutsu lesson. And it looked like he was freezing the whole room. The dragon roared again, but it sounded fainter now. Even the white landscape of his inner world was fading. For a moment he regretted it, but then he concentrated on the outside world. He had to snap out of it. He had to get his reiatsu under control.

It took a while, but he managed. He was sitting on the ground, breathing heavily. The instructor was standing above him, trembling, his lips blue. A look around showed him that the other students were in similar state. And it was entirely his fault. He felt ashamed of himself.

"Are you alright?" the sensei asked. Toushirou didn't understand why he was asking him. He should be asking the others. They were nearly frozen. He was unharmed. He nodded.

"Good," the teacher said. "Can you stand up?" Hitsugaya tried. His knees shook, but he could stand. "Let's go to the infirmary. Class dismissed."

Hitsugaya looked around at his classmates. They were looking at him with a mixture of awe and fear. He sighed. It looked like his school time was going to suck.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He had trouble keeping up with the lessons. He had started the classes later than the others and whatever the teachers said required knowing the material covered in the previous lectures, which Hitsugaya had missed, to understand. But he managed to get some grasp on the basic concepts; only the Kidou theory went right over his head. He was confident that he'd be able to catch up soon. The trouble was that he didn't learn anything that would help him with his nightmare problem. That was why he headed to the library as soon as the classes ended for the day.

The librarian looked at him suspiciously, but he was wearing the school uniform, so she let him pass. Or maybe she had heard about his entrance exams.

He went straight to the book index and looked for anything related to zanpakutou spirits and learning their names. The teachers probably expected him to catch up with the basic subjects first, but he didn't consider it that important. There was only one reason he had entered the Academy and he wasn't going to get sidetracked.

He found the correct section. He was surprised how few titles there were. Wasn't this a school for shinigami? What was there more important than learning the name of your zanpakutou? He chunked it off as another reason why shinigami are stupid and went to pick the books.

When he found the section in question, he was in for a nasty surprise. Most of the books were checked out and those that remained were on the top shelf.

'_Just my luck,' _Toushirou thought. And there was no ladder or even a chair in sight. He looked into the neighboring aisles, but found nothing of use. He returned to the shelf in question. It didn't get any lower miraculously. Then he checked the bookcase. It appeared to be made of solid wood. And nobody was nearby...

He swiftly climbed up. Once there, he picked up the tome he wanted. It was a lot heavier than it looked. It would be nigh impossible to climb down while holding on it. Could he chance a jump? It was quite a drop, but he managed worse. So jumping it was.

Unfortunately he forgot to take into consideration how much would the book upset his balance, so instead of a nice smooth landing, he nearly twisted his ankle and landed on his backside. And let's not forget how the book landed on him and knocked out his breath.

"Ow, little one fell and made a boo-boo?" an annoying voice asked. Toushirou looked up. Above him towered a tall young man in the student's uniform.

"Maybe he wants his mommy?" another speaker added. Hitsugaya didn't notice him until he spoke. He was much shorter and leaner than the first one, but both sported identical mean sneers.

"What kind of mommy can he have when she didn't even teach him not to climb the furniture?" the taller one asked.

"You're right, Yoshitsuna," the shorter one agreed. "She couldn't have been a good mom when he decided to run off on her and become a shinigami instead."

"Hah. And since when do they accept such shrimps?" Yoshitsuna asked. "He isn't from any family I've heard of."

"Oh, didn't you hear?" the shorter one asked.

"Hear what, Kayaku?"

"He's the brat from Rukongai who had so much trouble controlling his reiatsu they had to admit him in," Kayaku answered.

"And just how do you know?" Yoshitsuna inquired.

"Yumiko told me," Kayaku explained. "He was added to her class yesterday."

"Isn't she in the advanced class?" the big one questioned.

"Yes, she is," his sidekick confirmed.

"No way had they let this little shrimp into the advanced class," Yoshitsuna stated.

"Well, they did," Toushirou interjected. "And don't call me a shrimp."

"It spoke!" Yoshitsuna exclaimed. "Now hear, you little twerp, you don't speak to nobility unless spoken to, understood?"

"Hn," Hitsugaya huffed.

"What was that?" the nobleman leaned over him menacingly. Toushirou wanted to snap at him, but common sense interjected. There were two of them and both were much bigger than him.

"Yes," he grumbled.

"What was that?" Yoshitsuna repeated. "I didn't hear you."

"Yes, sir," he repeated humiliated.

"Now that was better," Yoshitsuna approved. "Maybe you can learn your place yet."

"Look at what he's reading," Kayaku pointed out. "'Contacting your zanpakutou'? What do you want it for? Little boys shouldn't play with sharp thingies, don't you know?"

"Yes, we should make sure you won't hurt yourself," Yoshitsuna added and grabbed the book from Toushirou's hands. "I'd better put it where it belongs," he announced and stashed the tome on the top shelf. Hitsugaya looked at it dejectedly.

"And now go home before anything worse happens to you," Kayaku advised. The two bullies turned and left. Toushirou remained sitting on the floor. Inside his emotions were churning. He didn't like being put down like that. He had wanted to lash out, to beat the two into the ground, but his common sense stopped him. He would have stood no chance, despite what a distant rumbling voice in his head was telling him.

He had hoped that things in Seireitei would be better than in Rukongai, but it turned out to be a foolish hope. Bullies were everywhere and once again they decided to target him. And there was nothing he could do about it. Maybe only train and study hard, so they won't dare to pick on him anymore. And maybe if he managed to skip a year or two, he'd get out of here earlier. Yes, that sounded like a plan.

Despite his resolve, it took over an hour before he dared to touch the book again.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Much later, in the privacy on his room, Toushirou pondered over what he had just read. He had hoped for some useful pointers, but instead he got only some general talk about focusing, searching your core and meditation. Duh. Like he wouldn't have figured as much himself, given enough time. It also warned against trying to discover your power without knowing your heart first. That made him pause, but then he shrugged and continued. His power clearly wanted to be discovered, so it wasn't like he had a choice. Oh, and then there were some utterly unhelpful tips, like unsheathing your sword and laying it on your lap. How was he supposed to do that, when the instructors didn't trust him with an asauchi yet? Guess he'd have to try without.

He sat cross-legged on the futon and closed his eyes. _Calm down,_ he thought. _Concentrate on your breathing, count backward, imagine polishing a mirror or waves, eh... just how do you meditate? _It occurred to him that he should have read a book on meditation first, but he wasn't giving up. And he didn't want a repeat of the incident during the kenjutsu class. He was sure that hadn't been the proper way. He decided to go with concentrating on his breathing, but it wasn't as easy as it sounded. His thoughts were running around, reminding him of various snippets from the day, but mostly concentrating around the icy plain and the dragon inhabiting it. Eventually he had to admit that he won't be able to meditate tonight. He sighed and lay down. He didn't like giving up, but he was too tired after two nights of interrupted sleep. It didn't take him long to fall asleep.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He was walking through the frozen wasteland again. _'Why did I try so hard to meditate when all I have to do is fall asleep?'_ he thought. He had no time to ponder over it. He could already see the silhouette of the dragon through the snow. He strode towards him purposefully._

"_What's your name?" he shouted. Once again he failed to understand the answer._

.*****************************************************************************************.

When he went to the library the next day, he wasn't looking for books of zanjutsu anymore. He came to the realization that it wasn't helping him learn his sword's name any faster, but if he wouldn't do some remedial studying soon, he was going to fail Kidou. They were scheduled to have a practical lesson tomorrow and he still had only a vague idea what it was about. And he had no desire to make a fool of himself publically, thank you very much.

Locating the Kidou section of the library was easy. He eyed the books to guess which one was the best. _'The beginners' guide to Kidou' _sounded good.

"Shirou-chan?" A familiar voice snapped him from his thoughts.

"Momo!" he exclaimed whirling around. The last two days were so busy that he had almost forgotten about looking for her, but now she found him by coincidence and he was immensely glad about it.

"What are you doing here?" the girl asked.

"Studying," he replied.

"But what are you doing in the school?" she clarified. "You weren't a student when the school year began."

"I've been here for three days," he answered.

"Why?"

"That crazy shinigami lady came, said I'm leaking reiatsu, told me I had to learn to control it and dragged me here," he explained.

"Really?" she asked dubiously.

"Yes," he nodded. "She somehow convinced the teachers to admit me, even though it's late. So here I am, trying to catch up with the lessons."

"You didn't have to come just because somebody said so," she objected.

"I had to," he replied. _Because otherwise Granny would have died, _he thought, but he couldn't tell her.

"You're still too young. You could wait before you grow up. Look around. There are no other children here." It was something Toushirou was painfully aware of. It wasn't a good feeling when everybody else was so much taller.

"I couldn't wait," he replied. "My reiatsu is too badly out of control. I have to learn to control it now."

"Even so, shinigami business is dangerous," Momo pointed out. "Learn to control your reiatsu if you must, but don't join the Gotei 13 until you're older."

"And why not?" he shrugged. "What would all the training be for?"

"What would it be for if you get killed?" she replied. "Do you still remember what I told you happened in our first year?"

"Yes," he answered. "That's something I can't ever forget." It was enough to convince him not to try for the Academy until the crazy lady came and convinced him otherwise.

"And you can't even imagine what it was like living through it. Please be careful," she pleaded. "I don't want to see you hurt."

"Then I'll just train harder so I won't get hurt and you won't have to worry about me," he claimed.

"I will always worry about you," she said.

"And I about you," he replied.

"And what did Granny think about it?" she wanted to know. "Was it really okay to leave her alone?"

"I talked with her," he answered. "She gave me her blessings."

"I guess it's alright then," she sighed. "So you are interested in Kidou? I'm too!"

"It's not really that I'm so interested, it's that we have a practice tomorrow and I have no idea what it is about," he explained.

"I can help you," she offered.

"Really, Momo?" She nodded. "Thanks. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I'm always glad to help, Shirou-chan," she smiled.

"Hey!" he protested. "You promised me you would stop calling me that when I went to the same school as you!"

"Did I, Shirou-chan? I can't remember. And now: do you want my help or not? I'll let you know, I'm the leading expert on Kidou here."

.*****************************************************************************************.

He was feeling a lot less anxious about the Kidou practice today. He had spent the whole evening with Momo yesterday and she had explained him all the necessary basics. And somehow she avoided mentioning captain Aizen the whole evening, something he was grateful for. He had to admit that she really understood the subject. He wasn't worrying about the theory anymore. He still couldn't manipulate his spiritual power properly, but he finally knew why his attempts in Rukongai were lacking. He felt he won't be able to get the spell right, but Momo had assured him that nobody gets it right on their first try and it's very rare to perform it correctly anytime during the first lesson. It made him feel better, but it wasn't enough to quench all his anxiety.

The instructor led them to the outdoors practice range, told them to stand in line facing the targets, and demonstrated Hadou #1: Thrust, and told them to start practicing, one at a time. Hitsugaya watched the attempts of his classmates. It did a lot to raise his confidence. Most of them weren't able to do anything, others got only a small spark of reiatsu and nobody managed anything resembling the teacher's example. He didn't know whether he'd do any better, but at least he couldn't do any worse.

And then it was finally his turn. He was determined to do the best he could. _Feel the power within you, _he recalled Momo's instructions. _Let it flow into your hand. Concentrate on the shape you want it to take. Say the incantation. Let it out._

"Hadou One: Thrust!" he shouted and his hand exploded. He was thrown backwards and landed hard. The sensei was above him in an instant.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Toushirou's hand hurt, but he could move all the fingers without hindrance, not counting the pain. He nodded. "Good. Do you know what you did wrong?" Hitsugaya shook his head. "You pushed too much power into it," the instructor explained. "It's a first level spell. It's fairly week. If you overload it, well, you just saw what happens. Now, if your hand isn't injured, go to the back and try again once it stops hurting."

Toushirou nodded and went to sit in the corner. He had thought he couldn't do any worse than the others, but he managed. No-one else made their Kidou explode. He patiently waited for his next turn. His hand was still hurting, but it was bearable. He extended his arm forward and concentrated on his power. The moment he started pushing it into his hand, the pain intensified. He wasn't sure he could take it any longer without bursting into tears. He quickly called the spell's name and let the power out. It flew from his fingertips with a spark and quickly dissipated in the air. The target didn't even move.

"That was better, but you have to concentrate on the direction," the teacher commented. Toushirou felt better immediately. The teacher didn't have words of praise for many students. He felt much more optimistic during his next attempt. He got to try several more times before the lesson was over. During his last attempt, he thought the target moved a little.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Things have fallen into a routine. Hitsugaya spent the evenings studying hard, sometimes with Momo's help, and within a week he caught up with the other students. Momo also introduced him to her friends, Kira and Abarai. He had been jealous of them before, but now he had to admit that they were decent fellows, despite Renji being a bit too rash and Izuru too easily depressed over any little thing. They even helped him with his studies occasionally, though they were mostly concerned about their own grades. At the end of the month, he and Momo went to visit Granny and he was immensely relieved to see that she looked healthier.

He could control his reiatsu better now, but only when he was awake. During the nights, his dreams still came and though he could see and hear the dragon better now, he still couldn't make out what he was saying. And every morning he woke up in a room covered in frost. His attempts at meditation had failed, but otherwise he was doing well. Thanks to Hinamori's help he soon became the best student in Kidou, and once he learned how to use his reiryoku to boost his strength, he began improving in kenjutsu as well. The only problem was that due to his small size he couldn't utilize all the movements being taught and had to work on developing his own style. After the accident during the first lesson some of his classmates were wary of sparring with him, but others wanted to measure their strength against him. Especially Hiro wanted a rematch. He won at first, but soon Hitsugaya became an equal opponent to him, even surpassing him after a little over two weeks.

The lessons on Hollows and history were easy for him too, reading something once was enough for him to understand it. And once he grasped the basics, his progress sped up. So it happened, that two months into the school year he could do everything an absolvent of the first year was supposed to be able to do. So there came the proposition to move him to second year.

He didn't know what to think about it. It was true that he found the lessons boring lately, but he was in no rush to graduate early, despite the attitudes of some of his classmates. As he had spoken to Momo about, he knew very well that shinigami life was a dangerous one and he wanted as much time to prepare for it as he could. And his problem with his zanpakutou spirit was only worsening; the amount of ice appearing in his room seemed bigger every morning.

He went to talk to Momo about it and she was of the opinion that he shouldn't move up a year. Second years got to go to the Living World much more often than first years and, well, he had already heard what could happen. But then Abarai, who had been nearby, pointed out that that would mean he'd get his own asauchi and that was all Toushirou needed to hear. Having his own blade was his dream. Maybe with it he would be finally able to learn the dragon's name and stop the dreams. So the next day he informed the teachers that he was moving up.

.*****************************************************************************************.

It was almost like starting the Academy all over again. Once again he had to find a new classroom, look for a place among a group of complete strangers, introduce himself to new teachers, once again having to catch up to where they were in their lessons. Fortunately now he had a fair idea of what the subjects were about, so he wasn't so completely lost.

"Isn't it the shrimp again?" A vaguely familiar voice cut into his musings. He looked up and recognized the bully from the library; Yoshitsuna was his name? "What are you doing in the second year class? Shouldn't you be back with your mommy by now?"

Hitsugaya could only think about how hard he would have to study to skip years again and soon.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The reason why he had moved up a year was finally here. Watanabe-sensei had announced that they would be going on a field exercise in the Living World in a week and the class was ecstatic. And so was Hitsugaya, because he would finally be getting a real zanpakutou. He would finally have a home for the dragon-spirit to inhabit.

He followed the teacher to the storage room where the asauchi were kept. He had read that it didn't matter which blade he would pick; there was no spirit in it now, it dwelled still within him and it would move into the sword once he made it his own and the blade itself would change shape once he learned its name.

Watanabe looked into the room and picked a small blade. Hitsugaya's new knowledge of weapons identified it as a wakizashi. He scowled. He wanted a long sword. Why did he have to get a short blade just because he was young? But then he reminded himself that the sword would change shape once he learned its name. Patience, he told himself. He'll have to learn the dragon's name and then he'll have his long blade. At least he hoped it would be long. The books said that he couldn't consciously influence the form the zanpakutou would take, despite it being a part of himself. But he was still convinced his sword was going to be long.

In the evening he tried the sword-meditation again. It was still giving him a lot of trouble, but he had been able to access his inner world this way twice before. It was also much easier to hear the dragon now, though he still didn't understand everything it said.

He sat cross-legged with the bare blade lying on his lap. He was trying to meditate, but he soon realized he would have no success tonight. He was too excited for it. He kept imagining how the dragon was stretching his wings inside the blade, how he was reforming it to his liking and how they would together slay many Hollows, cutting them into pieces or freezing and shattering them. He never doubted that he was going to wield ice as his weapon. He couldn't imagine what else it could be, with ice forming his whole inner world. And he was also sure he felt something shifting in his chest, the dragon moving and roaring happily.

With those thoughts he fell asleep.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_The plain of ice seemed larger tonight than ever before. It might __have been because the snowing wasn't so hard and the mountains in the distance seemed clearer and taller. The dragon now stood closer to Toushirou, looking larger then life and intimidating. But Hitsugaya wasn't scared._

"_Do you like the sword?" he asked._

"_**Yes,"**__ the dragon rumbled in response. __**"It's too short for my taste, but that will improve once you call my name."**_

'I knew it!'_ Toushirou nearly did a victory dance. He knew his sword was going to be long._

"_What's your name?" he shouted. The dragon answered. And for a moment, the boy thought he understood, but the meaning was lost quickly, disappearing like a snowflake on a hot summer's day._

.*****************************************************************************************.

The next day he succeeded in meditating, but once again failed to understand the name. But he didn't feel too down about it. The voice of his zanpakutou spirit was getting stronger rapidly and he was sure he would get it in no time.

The day before the trip he met Momo.

"I'm worried," she said when he told her about the field exercise.

"Don't be," he replied. "Nothing is going to happen. And even if something did happen, I have a real sword now, so I can take care of myself."

"Don't be so sure," she chided. "If something really dangerous appears, you won't be able to do anything."

"It won't," he reassured her. "The attack on your class was just a fluke. Nothing else like that has happened since."

"I know, but I can't help but worry," she sighed.

"Then I'll have to cheer you up." He drew his new asauchi. "Hey, look," he said making a few mock attacks, "how do you like it?" She took in the plain handle and guard and the short, but sharp blade.

"It fits your size," she commented.

"That's what Watanabe-sensei said too," he scowled. "But I want a longsword. Maybe a nodachi."

"Don't be ridiculous," Momo smiled. "It would be taller than you." Toushirou scowled harder. He really didn't like comments about his height. "Be glad you have this."

"Well, it doesn't matter," he shrugged. "I'm going to learn its name soon and then it will grow longer."

"You wish," she smirked. "I still don't know the name of mine. It's still so hard to access my inner world and I can barely understand anything it says."

"I can access it most of the time," he said. "And I can understand everything he says except his name."

"Really?" she raised her eyebrows. "I know you are good, already moving up a year, but I find this hard to believe."

"You'll see when I show you my shikai," he boasted.

"I'm looking forward to it," she replied evenly. "But I doubt you'll do it before me."

"Heh," he smirked. "It's a challenge, then."

"Well. And good luck tomorrow, Shirou-chan. I hope you aren't going to need it."

"Don't call me that. I hope too. And good luck to you too."

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya Toushirou would never admit it aloud, but he was feeling anxious. But none of the students mingling around excitedly would be able to tell; he hid every emotion behind his usual icy exterior. As he listened to the boisterous chatter of his fellow classmates, he couldn't help but wonder. Sure, they were going to their first trip to the Material World, but didn't they know how dangerous it could be? It had been just five short years since the disastrous field trip Momo had told him about and he couldn't help but feel apprehensive. What if they would be attacked by a swarm of giant Hollows as well? Sure, the Gotei 13 had learned its lesson and now sent full-fledged Shinigami for their protection, but it helped to soothe his nerves only a little. The occurrence Momo had told him about had been bad enough to warrant the deployment of a captain. If something like that happened again, the mostly unseated Shinigami wouldn't be able to protect them all. He didn't understand how they could forget about it and act so careless. Or didn't they know what had happened? Was the incident kept secret from other students? He didn't socialize with them enough to know. It was possible, but the rumor mills should have spread the information anyway. So how comes they weren't scared? Or were they just hiding their fear behind a mask of good humor? It was a possibility. Then he remembered it was only him who was going to the Living World for the first time. The other second year advanced students had been there on training exercises before. If they had been there before and nothing bad had happened, it was in human nature to expect it to go smoothly again.

"Is the midget scared?" an obnoxious voice woke him rudely from his musings. He bit his lip to suppress a sigh. Yoshitsuna always knew how to completely ruin his mood. "You know, this isn't a game anymore. It's dangerous down there. Full of Hollows. They would eat a shrimp like you in one bite. So maybe you should just run to your mommy and hide. This isn't a place for children."

Though the young man's voice was mocking, it echoed Hitsugaya's inner worries perfectly. He couldn't help but flinch a little. And though he composed himself almost immediately, the momentary lapse wasn't lost on Yoshitsuna.

"Ha, I knew it, you're scared," he gloated. "So run home before you wet yourself."

"Shut up," Toushirou growled, but the only effect it had on the bully was making him sneer even more.

"Just admit you're terrified and run while you still can!"

Before Hitsugaya could respond, the teacher's voice interrupted.

"Everybody come here, take your Hell Butterfly and the paper. Then form groups of three according to the symbol on the paper." Everybody moved to follow the order, the chatter momentarily rising in volume, as everybody voiced their opinion on who they wanted to be teamed up with. Yoshitsuna made one last jab at Toushirou before heading to the teacher's desk. The young prodigy followed him a few steps behind.

Finally it was his turn in the line. The bored shinigami handing out the butterflies gave him a 'what are you even doing here' look, but handed him the sleek black creature without a word. Toshiro took a moment to admire its elegant black and purple wings before drawing a piece of paper from the box. The other students were already mingling together, forming groups of two or three. He looked at his piece of paper. It was adorned with the symbol of crescent moon. Now who had the other two? He began walking around, looking for those still single and incomplete groups. Then a girly voice caught his ears.

"Doesn't anyone have the crescent?" it asked. He perked up and looked for its source. He found it soon enough. Close to him stood Kamizuki Minako, the second shortest person in the class, though her figure made it clear that she was much older than him. Hitsugaya was glad he ended teamed up with her, despite barely knowing the female student. She was one of the few of his classmates who never said anything bad about him, at least not within his earshot.

"Excuse me? I have the crescent moon as well." He showed her his paper. She turned to look at him. An expression crossed her face briefly but it disappeared before he could properly identify it. It was replaced with a cheery smile.

"So we are together? Good. Now just to find the third one…"

"What did I hear about crescents?" Yoshitsuna asked from behind him. Toushirou stiffened and slowly turned around. He saw exactly what he feared he would. There stood the bane of his existence holding a paper with the painted symbol of crescent moon. Great. The field exercise was bound to suck even without the presence of any Hollows.

"Great," Yoshitsuna said sarcastically. "I have two midgets on my team. Just stay in the back and try not to get hurt. Or better stay here. We wouldn't want anything happen to you now, would we?"

"And just why should I stay back, Yoshitsuna?" Minako asked pointedly. "In case you have forgotten our class standings, I'm fifth and you're near the bottom."

"That doesn't mean anything in the real world," the young man scowled. "So you're good with Kido. Big deal. You would have no time to chant the incantation once you're attacked by a Hollow. Can you even lift that sword of yours?"

"Do you want me to show you?" the girl shot back, her hand inching to the hilt.

"Did everybody find their teammates?" the teacher's voice interrupted the brewing fight. There was a round of confirmations. "Does everybody have their Hell Butterfly?" Once again everybody confirmed. "Good. Then let's move towards the Senkaimon."

The class filed behind him. Toushirou couldn't help but feel apprehensive as they moved towards the tall structure. What would it be like? At first glance, the Gate of Worlds didn't look all that impressive, just a really big door, but then it opened and a bright white light shone out. Toushirou regarded it with an awed gasp. Yoshitsuna didn't miss it and ruined the mood by suggesting that "little kiddies shouldn't go where it is dangerous and should stay at home." Hitsugaya only grunted in response.

They walked through the Severing World in silence. Just when Toushirou was beginning to find it monotonous and boring, another set of doors appeared in front of them and they entered the Living World.

Because it was Toushirou's first trip to the Material World, he wasn't sure what to expect. He had been imagining something akin to Junrin'an, maybe with taller buildings, or perhaps some area of wilderness, but he certainly didn't expect this.

The place they reached was one of devastation. What had once been a prosperous city now lay in ruins. Here and there houses were collapsed and ominous smoke was rising in the distance. All around people were running frantically or trying to dig through the rubble covering the streets. Among them, ghosts of the deceased were mingling, some of them obviously not realizing they were dead.

Before anyone could ask what in the world had happened here, the teacher spoke.

"We picked a place recently stricken by an earthquake to give you lots of souls to practice on. So now spread out and go."

"Doesn't such place attract Hollows?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Is the baby scared?" Yoshitsuna sneered.

"Don't worry," the teacher smiled. "That's what the full-fledged shinigami are here for." It did little to ease Toushirou's worries. In his opinion, there weren't nearly enough. Bud he said nothing more and followed the rest of his team on the exercise.

Their trio was a bit slower than the others and they soon found that there were no souls to be buried near them.

"That sucks," Yoshitsuna complained. "Let's go over there," he pointed in a direction a particularly large column of smoke was rising, "there are bound to be plenty."

"I don't think we should stray that far," Hitsugaya voiced his opinion.

"Scared?" the big boy sneered. "I'm afraid it's a bit too late to run crying now." Toushirou only scoffed in response.

"We won't be going far," Minako interjected. "With all this destruction around, there are bound to be souls close by."

Hitsugaya still wasn't convinced, but Yoshitsuna was already walking away and they had to hurry to catch up to him.

It seemed like Toushirou's fears wouldn't come true. They walked barely a block away when they came upon a soul in need of a Konsou. It was a young man staring dejectedly at something sticking out from under a particularly big piece of concrete. When they came closer, they recognized it as a foot.

The man looked up when they approached him.

"Hello," Minako said with a smile and a small wave.

"Hello," the ghost replied. He eyed their swords warily.

"We are here to… what were we supposed to say again?" Minako looked questioningly at her teammates.

"That everything is going to be alright and…" Hitsugaya started, but Yoshitsuna interrupted him.

"Does it matter? Let's just do it." He grabbed his asauchi and unsheathed it swiftly. The ghost bolted.

"Now look what you've done!" Minako scolded. The young man pretended not to hear her.

"After him!" he shouted in a commanding voice and took pursuit.

"Hey! We're not supposed to…" Toushirou yelled, but Yoshitsuna was already rounding the corner, Minako following close behind him. He sighed and ran after them.

Due to his short stature, he had always trouble keeping the pace of his taller classmates, but thanks to the lessons of using reiatsu to boost his physical power he was slowly learning to cope. But it still took him a considerable amount of time to catch up to them and when he did, he was mildly winded.

The other two students had already cornered the ghost in a dead end caused by a recently collapsed building. The man was looking at them fearfully; ready to bolt again if he saw the slightest opportunity. Yoshitsuna was approaching him with zanpakuto drawn, the handle already glowing with the seal of Konsou. The ghost screamed in fear.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," the nobleman spoke, completely oblivious to the fact that the spirit was looking over his shoulder. Completely oblivious to the foul reiatsu that had just appeared behind him and the big scorpion-like Hollow that was poised for attack.

Both Minako and Hitsugaya noticed. They drew their blades in unison. Minako whirled around, but she was too slow. The Hollow swung one claw-like arm and hit her in the side, swatting away her sword like it wasn't even there. The girl was flung away. Hitsugaya screamed in rage and charged at the Hollow.

His scream was enough to inform Yoshitsuna that something bad was going on. The older student slowly turned around and saw the danger. His eyes widened in fear. The Hollow's claw was speeding forward again. Yoshitsuna reflexively raised his sword to block, but he wasn't used to fighting with the backhanded grip used for performing Konsou. The strength of the hit batted his sword aside. The claw dug deep into his hip. He collapsed to the ground.

Hitsugaya was running at top speed, regretting that he didn't learn shunpo yet. The site of battle was too far from him and the Hollow raised its foreleg again, ready to finish his classmates off. There was no way he could make it there in time. The only way he could see to help them was Kidou, but he couldn't perform any of the higher-level spells without incantation and still get a damaging effect. But he had to try.

"Hadou #1: Thrust," he shouted and let the energy fly from his fingers. It wasn't enough to cause any harm, but the Hollow jerked sideways, its claw missing Yoshitsuna narrowly. Objective accomplished, thought Toushirou, but now the Hollow noticed him. It turned towards him, hissing angrily, its long curved tail wit a dangerously looking stinger swaying left and right.

"Hadou #4: Byakurai," Hitsugaya called and sent bolts of white lightning towards the creature. Unfortunately his aim while running still left a lot to be desired and the spell only nicked one of its claws. The Hollow roared and sprung forward.

Hitsugaya gripped his asauchi with both hands. Time for Kidou was over, now the real fight was beginning and he needed every bit of strength he could muster if he wanted to survive long enough for the instructors to appear. They had chased the dead man quite a long way so it might take a long time before they would arrive.

He raised his reiatsu, hoping to attract their attention. He heard the approving grunt of his still nameless zanpakutou. The ice dragon was offering him his support, promising he would fight beside him. It was enough to give Hitsugaya the confidence needed to fight instead of bolting.

The Hollow was almost upon him. He roared, lifted his sword and sent his reiatsu to the blade, just like the Academy taught them. He jumped in the air, aiming for the mask. 'Destroy the mask and the Hollow is done for,' the instructor had told them. Unfortunately that was easier said than done. The monster raised its intact claw, blocking his path. Hitsugaya's asauchi cut deep into it, rendering it useless. Then he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He placed one foot on the claw and tried to jump away, but he wasn't fast enough. The tail hit him, the stinger cutting a deep wound to his thigh. He cried in pain and fell to the ground.

He lay on the ground, unable to get away, and the Hollow stood about him, preparing to finish him off. _'Now would be a good time to panic,'_ a cynical part of his mind suggested, but he didn't heed its advice.

"Shakkahou!" he yelled, red fireball flying from his hand and hitting the Hollow's mask dead on. It did little more than irritate the monster further. It hissed like an angry cat. It swiped its claw, intent on ending Hitsugaya's life. He lifted his asauchi to block, but he already knew it won't be enough. But the hit never connected. Instead Minako appeared, blood dripping from her side, and cut the appendage of. Toushirou sighed in relief. Minako turned to him, as if asking whether he was alright. In the next moment the Hollow's tail struck her unprotected back. She looked surprised for a moment, before blood sprung from her mouth and she collapsed to the ground motionlessly.

Hitsugaya froze. No this can't be happening. Minako couldn't be dead. Not for him. No! He had to do something. He had to finish the Hollow now and help her. But he was lying on the ground, one of his legs completely useless, and only a short blade between him and a gruesome death. The Hollow turned its attention towards him again.

"No!" he screamed. He gripped his sword tightly, sitting up, raising his reiatsu higher than he ever did. Frost appeared on the ground around him and the Hollow hissed angrily, but he barely noticed. Time seemed to slow down for him.

He could feel a presence by his side.

"**Child,"** it spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. The street of the town, the Hollow and Minako's too still body disappeared around him. Instead he was now standing on the too familiar plain of ice, the wound on his leg gone like it had never existed.

"**Child,"** spoke the magnificent dragon standing in front of him. Hitsugaya realized that he could hear him more clearly than he ever did. **"What do you wish for?"**

"I wish to save them!" He shouted. "I wish I were stronger," he added quietly.

"**Do you want to fight?"**

"I need to win!"

"**Very well, child,"** the dragon spoke. **"Fight then. Have my strength. Say my name!"**

Then Hitsugaya was suddenly back on the street. The Hollow was still standing above him, ready to strike, but he didn't fear it anymore. With sudden confidence he shouted the name that was resonating through his mind.

"Hyourinmaru!"

The temperature around them dropped further, but he didn't even notice it. The Hollow did and took a step backwards in confusion. Hitsugaya paid him little attention. Instead he was fully focused on the weapon in his hand. It was changing. The blade was lengthening and the guard was changing from plain round to four-pointed star shape. The hilt changed from plain black to green with a diamond pattern.

Then the transformation was complete. It wasn't a moment too soon. The Hollow had finally gotten over its confusion and was ready to pounce on him again. Hitsugaya grinned. The Hollow was already dead, it just didn't know it yet. He knew exactly what he had to do. He lifted his zanpakuto higher.

"Hyourinmaru," he shouted again. The Hollow was now nearly in his face. He felt great power spreading through his veins. It was ice cold, but it didn't chill him. Ice formed around his sword, enveloping the blade and extending forward. He swung his blade forward and the ice flew forward. The surprised Hollow tried to dodge, but it was too slow. The ice hit its mask point blank and shattered it. It roared in pain and slowly disintegrated.

Hitsugaya stared at his newly acquired zanpakutou in wonder. He couldn't help but think that it was the single most awesome thing in the world. But he couldn't waste any time. He had more important things to do. Namely save Minako. He turned to look at her. She was lying face down on the ground, her motionless body covered by a thin layer of snow. _'Since when it is snowing?'_ Hitsugaya thought. It was summer.

"What was that?" Hitsugaya's head snapped around looking for the source of the shaky voice. Yoshitsuna was sitting there with eyes wide, snow falling in his hair.

"She's wounded!" Hitsugaya called. "We have to help her!"

"Idiot," Yoshitsuna smirked. "Can't you see she's dead?" Now that he said it, Toushirou had to admit that the hole in her back was kind of obvious.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'm fine," the young nobleman stated, even though the huge bloodstain on his hakama was insisting otherwise.

"I'll help you," Hitsugaya said and tried to get up. Tried being the keyword because the wound on his thigh made itself known and he collapsed back with a yelp.

"You can't even get up," Yoshitsuna smirked. "If you didn't butt in, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"If I didn't, you would have been dead by now," Hitsugaya pointed out.

"I had it under control," Yoshitsuna scowled. "I didn't need help from a little kid like you.

"Repeat it enough times and maybe you'll convince yourself," Toushirou responded.

"Why, you little..." the nobleman growled.

"What's going on here?" an authoritative voice interrupted them. It belonged to one of their guards.

"Hollow," Hitsugaya answered. "Minako's wounded. You have to help her!"

"You're the one wounded," Yoshitsuna smirked.

"Where's the Hollow?" the shinigami asked, looking cautiously around with his zanpakuto drawn.

"Gone, purified," Hitsugaya answered. The man looked at them skeptically.

"Then what's with the snow?" he asked.

"Oh!" Hitsugaya realized his reiatsu was still maxed. He concentrated on suppressing it. He still found the task hard, but he managed.

"_**I'll wait until you call me again,"**_he heard his zanpakuto's voice in his head. Then he suddenly felt so weak. His muscles were shaking and the wound on his leg was throbbing with pain. He noticed absentmindedly that the snowing ceased. He didn't notice anything else afterward. He passed out.


	3. The dragon's flight

**Author's note:**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach.

**On the frozen plain**** – The dragon's flight**

.*****************************************************************************************.

When he woke up again, he was lying on an infirmary bed. He blinked and the ceiling slowly came into focus.

"So you're finally awake!" an all too cheerful voice exclaimed.

"Of course, Bed-Wetter Momo," he grumbled.

"And back to your usual pleasant self," she chided. "Honestly, Shirou-chan, would it kill you if you were nice once in a while for a change?"

"Don't call me Shirou-chan," he pouted. "You promised me you'd stop if I go to the same school as you."

"I was just worried about you," she answered. "You've been unconscious for two days."

"That long?" he startled. "What happened to the others?"

Momo looked down sadly. "I'm sorry," she said. "Minako-san is dead." Hitsugaya took a moment to swallow it. He had expected the answer, but it hurt nevertheless. _'If I wasn't so slow, I wouldn't have gotten wounded,'_ he thought. _'And then Minako wouldn't have to save me and get killed herself.'_

"What about Yoshitsuna?" he inquired.

"He's in the next room. He'll be alright. Toushirou," she looked at him with a serious face, "do you see now how dangerous this is?"

"I know," he replied.

"You know I was against you coming here," she reminded him.

"I know."

"Won't you reconsider?" Momo begged. "You're still young. You can go back home and finish your training later."

"No," he answered resolutely. "I still cannot control my reiatsu properly. I'm not going back home." _'I can't,'_ he thought. _'I can't risk hurting Granny any more.'_

"Are you sure?" she questioned.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"You nearly died," she reminded him.

"I know," he sighed. "That's why I have to train to become stronger."

"It looks like I can't convince you." Now it was her turn to sigh.

"No," he confirmed.

"I just don't want to see anything happening to you, Shirou-chan. I couldn't take it."

"I know. Bed-wetter Momo. That's why I won't let anything happen to me," he assured her.

"You'd better not," she admonished. "Or you'd have to deal with me."

"I'll remember it."

"Make sure you'll do."

.*****************************************************************************************.

Later that day, he was visited by Watanabe-sensei and Ito-sensei. They wanted to know everything about the battle with the Hollow and Minako's death. They questioned him over and over again until he thought his ears would fall off. They were also very interested in his new zanpakutou. They seemed to have trouble believing he had really managed to learn its name. It didn't surprise him. He already knew that learning the name of his zanpakutou so early in his training was extremely rare. In the end, they admonished him for running away from the other students (even if it was Yoshitsuna's fault), commended him for good job purifying the Hollow and advised him to tread carefully while attempting to unlock the power of Hyourinmaru. Like he didn't know it already.

As soon as he was released form the infirmary, Toushirou picked up Hyourinmaru and headed for the most remote training grounds. He was eager to try and speak with his newly-named zanpakutou again, and this time without the distraction of a Hollow trying to eat him.

Reaching a small crater near the walls, that was the reminder of a seriously botched Kidou practice several years ago, took too long for his tastes, but his still-aching leg didn't allow him to move any faster. Finally he settled down on the rocky ground. He unsheathed Hyourinmaru and laid him on his crossed legs, just as the books described. His previous attempts had been unsuccessful, but he was confident that this time he'd do better. He finally knew his zanpakutou's name.

He closed his eyes and calmed his breathing. He concentrated on his inner world, the endless plane of ice, the mountains in the distance and the clouds overhead, the cold wind and the snow and the dragon of ice ruling over it. Hyourinmaru. _Hyourinmaru._

The outside world slowly faded. He found himself standing on the frozen grounds of his inner world.

"Hyourinmaru?" he called. Right on cue the dragon appeared in front of him.

"**Child,"** he spoke.

"Hyourinmaru," Hitsugaya smiled.

"**Do you think you can wield me?" **the dragon asked.

'_Yes,' _was what Toushirou wanted to say, but the word wouldn't leave his mouth. He looked at Hyourinmaru again. The dragon was so huge, so magnificent, so strong and powerful. Could he really wield such power?

"**You see?****" **Hyourinmaru said. **"You were barely able to hear my name, and it was in your time of need. The effort of summoning me nearly drained your reiryoku. It's not the time yet for you to wield my power."**

"When will it be?" Hitsugaya asked.

"**That, child, depends only on you."**

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Here you are!" Hinamori's voice interrupted his practice. "You know you shouldn't exert yourself. You got out of the infirmary just this afternoon. Do you want your wound to reopen?"

"No, and I'm being careful," he replied, despite secretly agreeing with Momo. His leg was still hurting.

"And what's with the sword?" she inquired. "Isn't it too long for you? Last time I checked you had a wakizashi."

"This is Hyourinmaru," he answered, "and he is my zanpakutou."

"You mean you've learned its name?" Momo stared wide-eyed, but there was also disbelief in her voice.

"Yes," he beamed. "Isn't he beautiful? See, I told you I'd have a long sword."

"But isn't it a bit too long?" she questioned. "It's taller than you!"

"It's not that long! Look!" He put the tip of the sword on the ground. Momo watched it critically.

"Well, you are really a tiny bit taller if you include your hair," she stated. Toushirou pouted.

"So what's your shikai?" Momo asked.

"Uh, I'm not that far yet," he admitted.

"Oh. But it's wonderful anyway. I don't know anyone who learned the name of their sword so fast. I still didn't. In fact, I think there wasn't a student getting it so fast in decades." Toushirou smiled. Momo's praise felt so good. And he was proud of his accomplishment.

"Anyway, let's get back inside. It's going to be dinner soon." That was something that never failed to work on Toushirou. He was always hungry. He heard that once he'd get his reiatsu under control, it would get better, but so far he had little luck.

"Are you going to carry the sword around unsheathed?" Momo raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't have a sheath for it," he admitted. "The old one no longer fits."

"That's a problem," she pointed out. "You have to get one soon. This is dangerous."

"I know," he replied. "I didn't get around to it yet."

"It should have been the first thing you did," Momo chastised him.

"I couldn't wait to talk to him again."

"Whatever," she shrugged. "Let's get you a sheath now. The dinner can wait." Toushirou made a long face, but there was no arguing with Momo. He followed her to the storage room obediently.

Getting a new sheath was easy. The man in charge looked at him oddly, but he measured the blade of Hyourinmaru and fetched a sheath in the correct length. Toushirou thanked him, sheathed his sword and stuffed it in his belt. Then he noticed it was dragging on the floor. He frowned. When he had wanted a longsword, he really hadn't anticipated this problem, but now he realized he really should have.

"Carry it on your back," Momo advised him.

"How do I get it to stick there?" he asked.

"I think I have a spare rope here," she said searching through her sleeves. "Here it is!" She handed him the rope. Hitsugaya tied it to the sheath and slung it over his shoulder.

"Thanks," he said. "This is much better."

.*****************************************************************************************.

Toushirou was walking to his dorms, when his path was blocked by two of his classmates. One of them was Yoshitsuna's faithful sidekick Kayaku, the other one he vaguely recognized as Takehiko, but didn't know much else about him. But the expressions on their faces suggested they were up to no good. Precisely, the glares they were giving him left no doubt that they were out to get him. He briefly thought abut running, but the long empty corridor didn't give him much chance of success. There was also nowhere to hide and nobody to call for help. Hitsugaya cursed the fact he had a room all for himself. The privacy was usually good, but now it ensured that the sinister duo wouldn't be interrupted in whatever they wanted to do to him. He tried to act like nothing was wrong and push past them, but Kayaku grabbed his shoulder.

"Not so fast, brat," he sneered.

"Let me go," Toushirou demanded, but it came out sounding scared.

"I don't think so," Kayaku sneered. "We have something to talk to you about."

"And what would that be?" Hitsugaya asked.

"I'm sure you know," Kayaku replied. "You know I have a friend who is stuck in the infirmary and Takehiko's girlfriend is dead."

"I'm sorry," Toushirou said sincerely. Minako's death was haunting him and he was sure it would for a long time to come. And even though Yoshitsuna was the bane of his existence, he didn't wish his injuries on him.

"Well, boy, tell us how did it happen," Takehiko ordered.

"We were chasing after the soul that ran away," Hitsugaya began, "when the Hollow suddenly appeared. It knocked Minako away and then wounded Yoshitsuna. I distracted it with Kidou, but it hurt me too. I thought I was a goner, but then Minako appeared and cut off its claw, but the Hollow hit her with its tail and killed her. I then managed to cut its mask and purify it."

"Really?" Kayaku raised an eyebrow. "Yoshitsuna told us a different story." _Figures, _Toushirou thought.

"He told us Minako died because you got in the way," Takehiko spat. Hitsugaya lowered his head. He couldn't argue with that statement. He did blame himself for Minako's death.

"Yes. Do you see now you're just a stupid little baby who should run back home and hold on mommy's skirt instead of playing shinigami?" Kayaku twisted the knife in the wound.

"If there was somebody competent with them, Minako wouldn't have died," Takehiko added.

"I'm sorry," Hitsugaya whispered.

"Sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it, boy," Takehiko informed him. "Can you bring Minako back?"

"No."

"Then you're going to pay."

Hitsugaya had been expecting something bad, but the fist to his face took him by surprise anyway. It would have knocked him down if Kayaku wasn't still holding his shoulder. This way he only stumbled back.

"Liked it?" Takehiko sneered. "There's more where it came from." Hitsugaya understood he was in deep trouble here. He stomped on Kayaku's foot, making the boy drop him. Before he could do anything else, Takehiko's kick sent him flying. He landed on the ground painfully, but without any serious damage.

"Cowering on the ground?" Kayaku sneered. "Is that all you are good for?"

Hitsugaya scrambled to his feet. "Two against one, is that all you are good for?" he shot back. In retrospect, it wasn't the smartest thing to say. Kayaku's face twisted in rage. He moved in a flash and grabbed Toushirou's shirt.

"Take it back, you little twerp!" Hitsugaya didn't, so Kayaku punched him again. Hitsugaya spat out blood and kicked Kayaku's shin. He managed to hit a sensitive spot and the bully dropped him. Toushirou stumbled back and reached for his sword. Hyourinmaru was roaring in his mind, wanting to join the fight. Toushirou listened to him. He had the sinking feeling that they might really kill him if he wouldn't do anything soon. It didn't even occur to him that he might be overreacting. He tried to draw Hyourinmaru, but he couldn't. The blade was long and his arms were short. He tugged on the hilt in panic, but the blade still wouldn't leave its sheath.

"What are you even doing with such a big sword if you cannot even draw it?" Fumita laughed at his expense. _'What, indeed,' _were Toushirou's thoughts. He had no time to think anything else, Kayaku was on him again and sent him to the ground with a well-placed kick. And another kick followed shortly. The white-haired boy tried to block it, but it did him little good. Then Takehiko was on him as well and the rate of the kicks doubled. Toushirou couldn't take it anymore and cried in pain.

"Don't think anybody's going to hear you here," Kayaku told him. It wasn't what Hitsugaya was thinking about. His thoughts were revolving around the fact that he had been able to defeat a Hollow and now he couldn't do anything about two school bullies. He should be able to protect himself. There should be something he could do. And there was! He lifted his hand and pointed at Kayaku.

"Hadou #1: Thrust," he whispered. Unfortunately Takehiko noticed his attempt and kicked his forearm. The energy hit only the wall, making a shallow dent into it.

"No Kidou," Kayaku commanded. "Let's break his fingers, so he can't cast spells anymore."

"We should break his jaw too to make sure," Takehiko suggested. Hitsugaya panicked. He could feel Hyourinmaru roaring inside, wanting to be let out. Suddenly it didn't matter he couldn't draw the blade, the dragon's power was always with him. His reiatsu raised and the corridor filled with mist and ice. The two bullies were knocked back by his spiritual pressure, their clothes and parts of their skin freezing. Hitsugaya stood up and made a step forward, intending to...

"What's going on here?" a familiar voice called. Hitsugaya paused. He knew the voice. But who was it?

"He attacked us!" Kayaku shouted.

"That's not true!" Toushirou protested. He turned around, slowly getting his reiatsu back under control. Now he recognized the person who had walked on them. Yumiko.

"There are footprints on his shirt," she observed.

"He attacked us!" Kayaku repeated. "With his zanpakutou and kidou! We had to defend ourselves!"

"I'm calling the teachers," she said.

"That's not necessary," Takehiko said.

"We have it under control, sweetie," Kayaku added.

"You all need to get to the infirmary," she insisted. "There's blood on you."

"What are you even doing here?" Kayaku asked.

"I was looking for you," she explained. "Yoshino told me she saw you going this way and then I felt the reiatsu."

"It's good you came," Toushirou said.

"I see. Now let's get you to the infirmary; you're still bleeding." Hitsugaya nodded and stepped in her direction. In the next moment he hissed in pain and collapsed on the ground. He didn't notice it during the fight, but somebody had kicked his wounded thigh. Now the surge of adrenaline was gone from his bloodstream, the pain hit him with a vengeance.

"What's going on here?" somebody asked. Toushirou raised his head and saw a man in the teachers' clothes. He couldn't recognize him, it wasn't any of his instructors.

"He attacked us," Kayaku pointed.

"That's not true!" Toushirou protested. "They attacked first!"

"Liar! You fired Kidou at us!" Kayaku accused him.

"And he tried to use his zanpakutou," Takehiko added.

"They were beating me!" Hitsugaya pointed out. "I only tried to defend."

"What happened here?" the teacher asked Yumiko.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I arrived when it was almost over."

"All of you are in trouble," the teacher informed them.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Once again, Toushirou was lying in the infirmary. _'And I only got out this morning,' _he thought. The healer fixed his bruises, spent a long time working on his thigh and admonished him for not taking it easy when she had told him so. He could have very well ended up with a limp for the rest of his life. He asked her what he was supposed to do when he was being attacked and she told him that it wasn't her problem. After she left, Ito and Watanabe came back, once again conducting an investigation.

"Interrogating the same student twice in the same day for two different incidents, that's something only very few troublemakers ever accomplished," Ito remarked.

"Sorry," Hitsugaya replied. "I couldn't help it. I'd much prefer not being attacked too."

"That's what we are here for. Tell us what happened," Watanabe asked him. So Toushirou did.

"So you say that they blamed you for Kamizuki Minako's death and attacked you first?" Ito asked.

"Yes," Hitsugaya confirmed.

"That's not what they said," Watanabe replied.

"Figures," Toushirou sighed. "So what did they say?"

"They said you got angry after they questioned you about what happened with the Hollow and you attacked them," Watanabe elaborated.

"That's a lie!"

"Too bad nobody saw it," Watanabe replied evenly. "And too bad nobody impartial saw what happened with the Hollow."

"What?" Hitsugaya blinked in surprise.

"Didn't you hear?" Watanabe questioned. "Yoshitsuna told us a different version about what happened."

"Let me guess: he claims he slew the Hollow and I was only getting in the way," the student said.

"How do you know?" Ito questioned.

"That's what Kayaku and Takehiko said," Hitsugaya explained.

"We'll leave now," Ito informed him. "You'll be informed of the results of our investigation later."

Hitsugaya closed his eyes tiredly as soon as they left the room. He didn't like his current predicament a bit and he liked the way he ended up in it even less. He had been attacked and he couldn't do anything to defend himself. He had been so happy when he had summoned his zanpakutou, but it didn't help him any in the fight. _'What good is a sword I cannot draw,' _he thought morosely.

"_**That is no fault of mine."**_

"_Hyourinmaru?"_

"_**Who else?"**_

"_So what should I do?" _the boy asked. _"I don't see how to carry such a long blade without having trouble."_

"_**Once you'll learn to use my power, you won't have that problem anymore," **_the dragon informed him.

"_What is that supposed to mean?"_

"_**Learn to unleash me and you'll see."**_

Soon after that, Toushirou fell asleep. And for the first time in month his dreams weren't filled with snow and ice. Instead he saw Minako's death and the two bullies looming over him. He would have much preferred seeing Hyourinmaru.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The next day was slow. Hitsugaya was officially banned from any physical activity, so he couldn't do his usual training. He couldn't even attend the kenjutsu lesson. So he went to the library to study. He picked a book on Shunpo. He figured that if he couldn't fight, he should be at least able to run away. He couldn't practice it yet, but he wanted to have a headstart on the theory. He was still sitting in the library when an Academy employee came to inform him that he was being summoned to the Headmaster's office. Hitsugaya sighed and limped after the man.

When he arrived, he wasn't at all surprised to see Kayaku and Takehiko there. Yoshitsuna was a bit of a surprise, he wasn't aware that the young nobleman had been released from the infirmary. The three other people there he didn't know at all, but the one dressed in the most lavish clothes looked like he could be Yoshitsuna's father. And now he thought about it, the haughty-looking shinigami bore a resemblance to Takehiko and the last one could be related to Kayaku. There were also Watanabe-sensei and Ito-sensei and of course the Headmaster.

"Now that everybody's here, we can begin," the Headmaster said. "There were some serious accusations made and we gathered here today to address them." Hitsugaya really didn't like how it sounded. "Eishima Kayaku and Ogidou Takehiko accused Hitsugaya Toushirou of attacking them."

"I didn't!" Toushirou blurted.

"Silence," Yoshitsuna's father chastised him. "Don't interrupt the Headmaster." Hitsugaya shot him a dirty glare, but remained silent.

"Thank you, Enjouji-san, but I can keep order among my students without your help," the Headmaster said. "Now if there are no further interruptions, we'll get back to business. I have all the reports about the incident. Does anyone of you have anything to add?"

"No," everybody answered in unison.

"Good. Now I'll ask you questions to clear up the discrepancies between them. Eishima Kayaku: you claim that Hitsugaya-san attacked you. Is that correct?"

"Yes," the bully nodded. Hitsugaya wanted to protest, but the headmaster's stern glare made him swallow his words. He settled for a glare of his own.

"How did he attack you?"

"He fired a Hadou at us and then reached for his zanpakutou," Kayaku answered.

"What Hadou?" the Headmaster questioned.

"Shakkahou," the student said. There was a small hesitation, like he didn't really know what to answer.

"What happened then?" the Headmaster inquired.

"We batted his hand aside and disarmed him," Kayaku answered. "He was still trying to fight. And then Yumiko came."

"Hm," the Headmaster nodded thoughtfully. "Now, Ogidou Takehiko, tell us your version of the story." Takehiko told exactly the same story as Kayaku, only he was less convincing.

"Now Hitsugaya Toushirou, tell us what happened." Hitsugaya told them his version of the story.

"He's lying," Ogidou-father said. "My son would do no such thing."

"I said no interruption," the Headmaster scowled. "Now, let's address the discrepancies in their stories."

"What's there to address?" Enjouji senior sneered. "The brat's obviously lying."

"There is such thing as evidence, Enjouji-san," the Headmaster said. "For example, both of you agreed that he used a Shakkahou against you." Kayaku and Takehiko nodded. "But there's no sign of Shakkahou being fired in the corridor. There is only an impact that could have been caused by Shou."

"So he used different Kidou," Yoshitsuna's father shrugged. "Or he messed it up. Shakkahou, Shou, big difference."

"It is big difference," the Headmaster corrected. "While Shakkahou is highly destructive, Shou rarely does any damage. And Hitsugaya-san is too skilled in Kidou to mess up like this."

"So?" Ogidou elder asked. "He still fired a Hadou at my son."

"Let's get to the next point: You claim he attacked you with his zanpakutou." Once again both the boys nodded. "But when miss Asagi arrived, his sword was sheathed. How do you explain that?"

"We said he reached for the zanpakutou. We managed to stop him before he could draw it," Kayaku explained. He was obviously far more skilled in the delicate art of excuses.

"Next point," the Headmaster continued. "There were multiple footprints on Hitsugaya's shirt. How do you explain that?"

"It happened during the struggle. One of us must have kicked him."

"That was no random kick," the Headmaster disagreed. "Our medic said that this happens when somebody is lying on the ground and other people are kicking him."

"How dare you?" Ogidou senior exploded. "I can't let you accuse my son like that!"

"I'm not accusing anybody. I'm merely stating facts," the Headmaster corrected. "So do you have any explanation for it?" Takehiko opened his mouth to speak, but Kayaku kicked his foot and he closed it again.

"He already had them when he attacked us," Kayaku stated without missing a beat. Hitsugaya inhaled sharply, but the Headmaster's glare silenced him.

"It seems like you have an explanation for everything," the Headmaster commented dryly. Kayaku chose not to answer.

"So what are you going to do to him?' Enjouji elder asked.

"Why should I do anything to him?" the Headmaster retorted.

"He attacked two students," the nobleman stated.

"Did he? There's no proof of it," the Headmaster reminded him.

"Two witnesses aren't enough?" Enjouji the elder asked.

"No. They aren't impartial," the Headmaster explained.

"So you are going to take his word?" Yoshitsuna's father sneered. "He's just a dirty little punk from Rukongai who already got my son wounded and another student killed."

"And you base the assumption on what?" the Headmaster questioned. "Your son's word?"

"What else? Where would we be if I couldn't trust my own child."

"Once again, that incident has no impartial witnesses," the Headmaster sighed. "All we know for sure is that Kamizuki-san died, Enjouji-san and Hitsugaya-san were wounded and that Hitsugaya-san managed to summon his zanpakutou. So there's no certainty, but it is far more likely that it was Hitsugaya who purified the Hollow."

"I find it hard to believe that such a child could summon his own zanpakutou. How can you be sure he didn't steal it somewhere?" Yoshitsuna's father questioned.

"We performed the necessary tests. It is indeed his zanpakutou," the Headmaster explained.

"That still proves nothing," Enjouji elder grumbled.

"You're right," the Headmaster sighed. "All the evidence here is circumstational."

"So how are you going to punish him?" Yoshitsuna's father demanded.

"Based on what? Circumstational evidence? I can't do that," the Headmaster replied.

"He got into a fight," Eishima elder pointed out. "That's one thing there's no doubt about."

"That's right," the Headmaster agreed. "And so did your son and Ogidou-san. Unfortunately we cannot prove who started it, so I'll have to punish all three of them."

"What?" The trio of bullies looked like they genuinely didn't expect such outcome.

"So you are going to treat nobles the same as a common brat from Rukongai?" Yoshitsuna's father sneered.

"I'm obliged to treat all students equally," the Headmaster replied undaunted.

"The noble families won't like it when they hear it," Enjouji elder informed him.

"They won't say a thing," the Headmaster disagreed. "They all agreed on this principle long ago. And no-one wants the possibility of their child being treated bad if their house fell out of favor." The nobleman had nothing to say to that.

"So if no-one wants to say anything else, hear my decision. Ogidou Takehiko, Eishima Kayaku and Hitsugaya Toushirou. For fighting on the Academy grounds, you are hereby put on probation for the next three months. If any of you is caught fighting or otherwise breaking the school rules again, you'll be immediately suspended and if the offense is serious enough, you might be even expelled. Do you understand?"

Three "Yes" were his answer. The two young noblemen were looking sour. They were too used to the protection of their social standing, that they never expected to be punished. Hitsugaya was bitter with the unfairness of it all. He was the one who had been attacked and now he was being punished along with the attackers? It was utterly unfair. Even the Headmaster seemed to believe in his innocence, but he didn't do anything, obviously too intimidated by the close presence of nobility.

'_So the noblemen can get away with it,'_ he thought bitterly. Was there any justice in the world? Well, just what did he expect? People rarely ever took his side. He supposed he should count himself lucky for not being blamed for everything. But the sense of injustice lingered.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya knew that the headmaster's decision bode him no good the moment the man said it. But there was nothing he could do about it; the noble families had much more influence than some kid from Rukongai. He wondered whether Granny would have been able to scare them into relenting, but he couldn't hide behind her skirts anymore. He was studying to be a shinigami, so he was the one supposed to protect the others. Even if he was going to have trouble protecting himself, because there was no way Yoshitsuna's group would pass such opportunity. Especially when their leader wasn't in any trouble.

And he was proven true. It happened the next day, when Yoshitsuna was finally released from the infirmary. The young nobleman strutted through the classroom like he owned it. It wasn't much different from his usual behavior, but there was an extra bounce in his step today and his smirk looked twice as mean than usual. When he passed Toushirou's desk, he bumped into it and overturned the inkpot on Hitsugaya's notebook. Weeks of class notes were irrecoverably ruined.

"Sorry," Yoshitsuna said in a tone that left no doubt that he did it on purpose. Hitsugaya gritted his teeth. He wanted so much to wipe his smirk off his face with a fist or maybe even his zanpakutou, but he couldn't. He was on probation. Fighting might mean his expulsion and what would he do then? Even though his room wasn't covered in ice every morning anymore, his reiatsu control was still not very good. He couldn't return to Granny like that. And Yoshitsuna looked like he knew it. So Toushirou had no choice but to endure what promised to be the first in a long line of similar incidents. And he was right.

Yoshitsuna took it upon himself to make his life hell. Kayaku was usually standing in the background and grinning, he was on probation too, so he made sure not to get into any trouble. Only Takehiko didn't take part in it, either not being a bully by nature or being too scared of a reprimand. But even the two were enough.

They got him in trouble with the teachers on several occasions because they took or ruined his homework. He tried complaining just once, but he had no witnesses to support his accusations, so he was the one who ended up reprimanded. So without any support and without the possibility of defending himself, the only option left was running. He took to practicing shunpo on every occasion he got. With the extra motivation, he improved quickly. Soon Yoshitsuna's group of bullies couldn't touch him, because they couldn't catch him. They still managed to cause him a little trouble in the classroom, but Hitsugaya made sure he was never alone there, and even they didn't dare to do anything drastic in front of witnesses. Soon his grades rose to perfect again.

He studied with Hinamori more often. He figured that the best way to get rid of the bullies would be to be in another class altogether. And when he managed to do it once, he should be able to do it again. And Momo was the best one to help him to improve his Kidou. She was worried the first time he had shown for their study session with a food stain on his clothes, but he played it off to his being clumsy. He didn't want to trouble her needlessly. It wasn't like she could do anything about it. He used the same excuse every time he shown up with tears in his clothes and Momo always believed him. The Bed-Wetter was just as oblivious as always and he was grateful for it. Though, if he was sincere with himself, he'd have to admit he was a bit hurt too.

It was around the time when he finally became confident that he should be able to move to the third year soon and leave Yoshitsuna's gang behind, that he noticed something disconcerting. One morning his room was covered in frost again. It wasn't as bad as it used to be before he learned his zanpakutou's name, but it was a bad sign nevertheless. He realized with a pang that between his lessons with Hinamori and his shunpo practice, he had been neglecting Hyourinmaru. Since their conversation in the infirmary he had made very few attempts to learn the release command.

So the moment school let up for the day, he took his trusty sword and headed to his favorite place in the crater near the wall. He laid the bared blade over his crossed legs and closed his eyes in meditation. He didn't practice meditation since he discovered Hyourinmaru's name, but despite it he found it much easier to enter his inner world. Soon enough he stood on the white wasteland and the huge ice dragon landed down in front of him.

"Hyourinmaru!" Toushirou greeted.

"**Child,"** the spirit replied. **"What do you seek here?"**

"You," Hitsugaya answered. "Am I now strong enough to wield your power?"

"**That's something you must know yourself,"** the dragon answered. Toushirou thought hard about the answer.

"I've improved a lot," he said.

"**But is it enough?"** _'Was it enough?'_ the boy thought. The dragon still looked as intimidating as ever. But he was stronger now. He wasn't a scared little kid anymore. And he needed the strength. He didn't want to just watch helplessly the next time one of his classmates was attacked by a Hollow. He could do it.

"Yes," he answered, but there was a tremor of uncertainty in his voice.

"**Are you?" **Hyourinmaru questioned. Hitsugaya nodded. He could do this.** "Let's see about that. Do you trust me?"**

"Yes." He didn't even have to think about the answer.

"**Do you really?" **the dragon questioned. Before Toushirou could say anything, the dragon lunged. The boy jumped back and reached for a weapon that wasn't there. But Hyourinmaru didn't press his attack. **"No, you don't really trust me," **the spirit spoke, **"at least not yet."**

"You attacked me!" the boy protested. "It's instinct to dodge!"

"**True partners should trust each other that one would never harm one another."**

"I can't really imagine such level of trust," Hitsugaya replied.

"**I know," **the dragon nodded. **"Such trust is very rare."**

"Yet there are many shinigami who know shikai," Toushirou pointed out.

"**I know," **Hyourinmaru said. **"Not everybody needs such trust to achieve it."**

"But I do?"

"**Not really."**

"Than what was the test for?" Hitsugaya asked angrily.

"**To test you," **the spirit shrugged. **"What else?"**

"Figures," Toushirou grumbled. "So what about the shikai?"

"**Le****t's see if you are worth it yet," **the spirit replied.

"What should I do?" the boy asked.

"**Climb onto my back and hold fast."**He did as Hyourinmaru said.

As soon as he settled between the ice wings, the dragon took flight. The movement was so sudden that he nearly fell off. It took all his strength to hold onto the spirit, especially since the ice scales were very slippery. But he somehow managed despite feeling like he was going to fall off any moment. Then suddenly the dragon's ascent stopped and he nearly flew over his head, but thanks to some miracle he managed to keep his hold. Then he finally could breathe freely, so he peeked over Hyourinmaru's shoulder. And gasped. They were high. So high that the icy ground below them looked like some painting. Even the mountains looked like mere children's toys.

"**Are you scared?"** Hyourinmaru asked.

"No," Toushirou replied. And it was the truth. He knew that he probably should be scared of the seemingly endless drop to the ground, but he wasn't. Instead he was excited. He loved the feeling of being so high, he loved the sight of the ground so tiny, he loved the feeling of icy winds ruffling his hair.

"**Good," **the dragon said. Then suddenly he was moving again. Hitsugaya had relaxed his grip on his scales while Hyourinmaru was just floating in the air, and suddenly he found himself sliding. He yelled in surprise and made a desperate grasp, but his fingers couldn't find any purchase on the icy surface. Then the white scales disappeared from under him and he was falling. Suddenly the ground below him didn't look pretty at all. It became and all-too-solid reminder of what was awaiting him down there. And the wind in his hair became an indicator of how fast it was approaching. He couldn't help it anymore. He screamed.

"**Scared?"** Hyourinmaru suddenly appeared beside him, but remained just out of reach. Hitsugaya nodded. He was scared. He was falling to his death. What was there not to be scared about? Then he looked at Hyourinmaru. The dragon won't let him die, right? He reached out a hand, trying to grasp the tip of his wing, pleading the dragon to come closer.

"**I don't think so," **Hyourinmaru answered.

"Why?" Toushirou asked.

"**Do you really have to ask?"**Hitsugaya did. He really had no clue why Hyourinmaru was doing this. When he didn't answer, the dragon continued. **"You're scared, boy. Do you really think I would lend my power to a coward?"** Hitsugaya shook his head.

"Everybody would be scared while falling!" he shouted over the roar of the wind.

"**I wasn't talking about now!"**The dragon bellowed angrily.

"Then what?" the boy didn't understand.

"**You ran from fights! You've been running from them for the last month!"**

"I can't help it! I'm forbidden to fight!"

"**So?" **the dragon shrugged. **"That's your problem, not mine."**

"That's not fair," Toushirou whined. He took a look at the ground and immediately regretted it. It looked much closer than just a minute before.

"**Life's not fair," **Hyourinmaru replied philosophically. **"I thought you'd know by now."**

"Yes," the boy nodded. He knew that very well. "Will you let me fall?" he asked after a moment of silence. The ground looked now considerably closer than before.

"**What do you think?"**

"You're my zanpakutou! You can't let me fall!" The details of the landscape were much bigger now and Hitsugaya was on the verge of panic.

"**Can't I?"**

"You'd die with me!"

"**So?" **the dragon shrugged.** "Better than living in shame that my wielder is a coward."**

"Are you really so mad?"

"**Well, let's see: You keep insulting my strength by running from fights, ****you don't really trust me, you keep ignoring me and then you have the guts to come here and demand my shikai. So what do you think?"**

"Sorry!" Toushirou shouted.

"**Sorry?****" **the dragon raised an eyebrow. **"That isn't enough, child."**

"I won't be running from fights anymore and I'll come to see you more often!" the boy promised.

"**You say that now."**Hyourinmaru looked meaningfully at the fast approaching ground.

"I mean it! I swear!" Hitsugaya wasn't even trying to keep the terror from his voice. The surface was now uncomfortably close.

"**Well, I suppose I can give you the chance****," **the spirit shrugged. **"But remember, child, don't fail me."**

"I won't!"

"**Keep that in mind. And remember, child, you are not ready for my power yet."**

Then the dragon suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Hitsugaya in its jaws. It was at the last moment. The ground seemed only an arm's reach away. There was a sudden sense of vertigo and the next moment he was sitting in the crater, sun shining on his face and birds chirping in the trees. There wasn't a single speck of snow anywhere and the only wind around was the breeze gently rustling the leaves. Toushirou exhaled deeply, trying to calm his racing heart. He was just meditating in the garden, not plummeting to his death. Yet it took him a long time before he could stand up and even then his legs were shaky.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Keeping the promise to Hyourinmaru was just as hard as Toushirou imagined it being. Just the next morning he ran into Yoshitsuna on the way to the class. The young nobleman grinned wickedly when he spotted him and it took all of Hitsugaya's resolve not to bolt. But he had given his word and he had every intention of sticking to it. He took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders and walked straight ahead.

"Not going to run today?" the bully raised an eyebrow. "But you really should. Aren't you going to reconsider?" He really wanted to, but he couldn't. He instead pretended to ignore the older boy and walked straight ahead. But Yoshitsuna had different plans. Just as Toushirou was about to pass by him, he grabbed his shoulder. The white-haired boy froze. He had a very uncomfortable sense of deja-vu. But he suppressed his quickly raising feeling of panic.

"Let me go," he hissed.

"Why?" Yoshitsuna asked.

"Just do it," Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes dangerously. It had absolutely no effect on the bully.

"Or what?" he questioned. "Are you going to stomp on my foot? That would get you in trouble. You're the one on probation, remember?" That wasn't something Toushirou could forget.

"Why should I bother? You're not worth my time," he replied with much more confidence than he actually felt. Yoshitsuna scowled and his grip on Toushirou's shoulder tightened.

"What did you just say?"

"Do you have trouble hearing?" the younger boy shot back.

"I could hear you just fine, twerp," the young noble growled.

"Than why did you have to ask?" Hitsugaya shot back. He desperately wished for a plan. Thanks to his promise to Hyourinmaru, running wasn't an option and thanks to his probation, fighting wasn't either. The only thing he could do was stall for time and hope that somebody would show up. But this particular corridor wasn't very frequented, so it might take a while. And if it took too long, he might end up being late for class. He suspected that Yoshitsuna had been waiting specifically for him. And if that was the case, than it was possible that Kayaku was making sure nobody went their way. That sounded like trouble, but it had also a certain advantage: No-one would be there to see if he broke his probation. He smirked. Yes, that was something he could work with.

"I just couldn't believe you would actually say that," Yoshitsuna sneered. "Do you know how much pain can I put you into for that?"

"Aren't you afraid somebody would catch you?" Toushirou asked.

"Don't worry. Nobody will be coming here anytime soon," the young man grinned wickedly. Hitsugaya matched his expression with one of his own.

"That's good to know." Yoshitsuna looked a bit unsettled with his reaction.

"Aren't you scared?" he questioned. "Nobody will hear you scream."

"No," Hitsugaya shook his head, his grin widening. "Nobody will hear YOU scream."

"What?" The bully blinked in surprise.

"If they find you here with several broken bones and a concussion, nobody would be able to prove who did it," Hitsugaya elaborated. Seeing Yoshitsuna release his shoulder and take a step back restored Toushirou's confidence.

"Like you'd dare, twerp," the bully smirked, but it wasn't as self-assured as it used to be.

"And why shouldn't I?" Hitsugaya asked.

"In case you didn't notice, I'm three times as big as you," Yoshitsuna pointed out.

"That just makes you a nice big target," Toushirou replied. "Because you sure aren't three times as strong as me. Quite the contrary, I'd say."

"Take that back!" the young noble shouted angrily.

"Or what?" Hitsugaya asked in a bored tone. He emphasized his words with a bit of reiatsu. Yoshitsuna gulped. He could feel the last shreds of his self-confidence deserting him. Between the two of them, Hitsugaya was the stronger one and they both knew it.

"I'll get you expelled!" he threatened. "I'll say you attacked me!"

"If you do, then I won't have any reason not to beat you into a bloody pulp, don't you get it? And now, step aside, I have places I need to be." He didn't wait for Yoshitsuna's answer and pushed right past him. The older student was so shook up he didn't even try to stop him.

Around the corner, he passed a puzzled-looking Kayaku. The sidekick couldn't understand why the young boy wasn't being trashed. Hitsugaya didn't even bother to hide his smirk. He was now glad that he took Hyourinmaru's advice. The dragon was right, running helped nothing. Standing up for himself was much, much better. He could hear the zanpakutou's approving rumble in the back of his mind. Maybe he'd be able to learn the release command soon.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Soon after this he got transferred to the third year. Even though Yoshitsuna's gang hadn't bothered him since then, he was still glad he didn't have to see them everyday anymore.

Otherwise, being in the third year brought little change to Hitsugaya's life. The most notable of them was Hibiki-sensei, who liked Toushirou at first sight and called on him in class often to demonstrate something. It earned Hitsugaya the nickname 'Teacher's pet' and some amount of resentment from his new classmates. He didn't mind too badly. Considering the speed he had moved up the years until now, he'd be in the fourth year before long.

That thought made him pause. He'd been attending the Academy for a little over four months now and he was already in his third year. Once he finished it, he'd have completed half of the curriculum. If he would be able to do it before the half year mark, he'd be able to graduate together with Hinamori. That was an intriguing prospect. They could join the same division and go on missions together and spend a lot time around each other just like they used to. And Hinamori won't be able to treat him like a little kid anymore, because he'd be equal to her. He closed his eyes and imagined the idyll.

But his more realistic or cynical part made him pause. Could it really be like before? Back then, it used to be the two of them and Granny. Now she had Abarai and Kira. Well, to be fair, back then she used to have Tatsukichi and Ayumi, so that wasn't where the difference lay. The real problem was her crush on Aizen. Even though she could go for days, sometimes even weeks, without mentioning him, when she did, there was a light in her eyes that nothing else could bring out. He couldn't honestly say that it was all bad without letting his jealousy speak, but it was a sure sign that nothing could ever be the same. But graduating at the same time as Momo was still very alluring. The thought made him embrace his studies with even more diligence than before.

He also spent more time trying to get to know his zanpakutou. Hyourinmaru seemed more pleased with him now, but he still refused to reveal the release command. He also kept visiting Toushirou in his dreams, which caused the room to be covered in ice in the morning. It was getting almost as bad as it used to be before learning Hyourinmaru's name. He wished he would solve the problem soon. He felt like he was close to achieving his shikai, but he had felt the same way for weeks. Did he need something more to unlock Hyourinmaru's power? Would he have to fight a real Hollow and watch a comrade die again? He certainly hoped not. But for the time being, he could do nothing but train.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya eyed the wooden poles in front of him. He gauged the distance between them and the best angles of approach. He then lifted his left arm to his shoulder's height. His right hand tightened its grip on Hyourinmaru. He took a deep breathHis and opened his left palm. A stone appeared and began its descent to the ground. Hitsugaya disappeared in a shunpo. He flashed from one post to another, slashing at each of them. At the end of the line he turned around and raced back, once again hitting every pole. Then he returned to his starting point and tried to grab the stone before it fell to the ground. He didn't make it. He grimaced. _'Still too slow,' _he thought. He had long hours of practice in front of him. His shunpo was sufficient for the time being, but it still took him too long to attack after each flash step. If he wanted to use it in battle, it had to improve and that was exactly what he was trying to do. He picked up another set of sticks and plucked them into the ground next to the old ones. He was just about to give it another try, when he heard the excited voice of Hinamori.

"Shirou-chan! Are you there, Shirou-chan?"

"I'm here!" he called. "And don't call me Shirou-chan."

"Sorry, Shirou-chan," she replied running up to him. He scowled, but she ignored it. "I'm just too excited today."

"What's the big deal?"

"A captain is coming to inspect the Academy today!" she announced.

"Really?" he perked up. He was curious about how did a captain look like.

"Yes!" she nodded enthusiastically. "Come or we are going to miss it!" Hitsugaya sheathed Hyourinmaru and followed Hinamori. Ever since the incident with Kayaku and Takehiko, he carried the sheath in his hand, sometimes using it as a walking stick. Some of his classmates thought it was stupid and laughed at him, but for him it was the only way to keep his sword available at all times.

"Maybe it's Aizen-taichou coming today," Momo babbled as they hurried towards the main gate. "Well, it probably isn't him, it's been someone different every year, but I still hope it's Aizen. I wish you could see him, Shirou-chan. He's so awesome!" Toushirou sighed. Hinamori could go for weeks without mentioning her idol, but sometimes she suffered a full-on attack of fangirlism. And it looked like the time came today.

They soon arrived at the courtyard near the gate. It was already filled with curious students trying to get a spot in the front rows. Realizing how thick the crowd was, Hitsugaya paused.

"What's wrong, Shirou-chan?" Hinamori asked. He was surprised that she noticed him stopping, considering how preoccupied she was with her babbling.

"I won't see anything from here," he stated.

"We can try to push through," she offered weakly. She realized how hopeless it was.

"Or we can find a high spot," Hitsugaya suggested, his eyes already scanning the surroundings. "That seems about right," he pointed at a tree near the wall.

"You want to climb trees in front of a captain?" Momo asked in disbelief. He shrugged.

"Do you have a better plan?"

"You really shouldn't do that," she repeated, but Toushirou didn't listen. He was already climbing up. After a moment of hesitation, Hinamori followed. Curiosity won over the sense of propriety in her too. They found comfortable spots between the branches. They chose well, only a handful of leaves obscured their view of the gate the captain was going to enter through any moment.

"There he goes!" Momo announced. She was right. There was somebody coming through the door. From their position in the tree, the first thing they saw were the captain's feet. Then the legs appeared along with the hem of the white haori. Then appeared two petite hands, a braid of long hair and finally a gentle, smiling face, revealing that the captain was actually a she. Behind her appeared a tall, thin man with a badge identifying him as her fukutaichou.

"That's captain Unohana," Momo whispered.

"I know," Hitsugaya replied. The Academy required the students to know about the captains past and present, as a part of their history lessons. Therefore he knew that she was the commander of the medical division, supposedly to be able to cure nearly any ailment, and one of the oldest captains still on active duty and also one of the most powerful. Strange, Hitsugaya thought. She didn't seem that old or powerful to him. He was overcome with curiosity. He had to take a closer look.

He climbed along the branch he was sitting on.

"Shirou-chan!" Momo hissed. "Don't go there! Do you want to fall?" He ignored her. It was a mistake. If he wasn't too preoccupied with gawking at the captain, he might have noticed that the branch was dry. This way his first warning was a cracking sound, which got drowned in the murmur of the crowd. He noticed only the loud snap when the old wood finally broke. His hands frantically searched for another branch to grab onto, but there was none. The problem wasn't that he was falling, he had learned enough to be able to land safely, the problem was that there were people below him.

"Look out!" he shouted. The students looked up and quickly scrambled out of the way. Only one tripped on his own feet. Hitsugaya landed on him. There was a yelp of pain. Hitsugaya quickly jumped off him.

"Sorry!" he shouted. "Are you all right?"

"I don't know," the student answered.

"Look what you did!" Hinamori scolded jumping down from the tree. "You hurt him!" She pointed at a tear in the student's shirt. Its edges were seeping red.

"Sorry," Toushirou repeated. "I didn't want to. I can help you."

"I can heal it better," Hinamori interjected. "I'm better at Kidou than you."

"You don't have to bother," the injured student smiled. "I can heal it myself. I'm really good at it. Though," he added sadly, "that's the only thing I'm any good at."

"What's going on here?" a quiet, yet commanding voice asked. They turned around in unison. There, above them, stood captain Unohana. And though the woman was smiling, Hitsugaya had the feeling of impending doom.

"I fell on him," he answered.

"That wasn't very nice of you," Unohana said and Hitsugaya suddenly felt like the most rotten villain in the world. "Now let me have a look at you," she knelt down beside the downed student. The boy was staring at her like she was a goddess. Her hands glowed green with healing Kidou. She moved them swiftly over his body. "There, now, it's all healed," she announced.

"So fast," Hinamori stared wide-eyed.

"T-thank you," the healed student stammered.

"You're welcome," she smiled. "Now what's your name, dear?"

"Ya-Yamada Hanatarou," he answered.

"Hanatarou? That's a nice name," Unohana said.

"T-thank you!" Hanatarou beamed.

"You said you were interested in healing," she continued.

"Well, it's the only subject I'm any good at," he admitted.

"That's still good," she smiled kindly. "Wouldn't you like to join my division when you graduate? The Fourth can use more good healers."

"T-thank y-you," Hanatarou replied in tears. "You're to kind."

"Stop stuttering, little brother," Unohana's fukutaichou spoke. "You're making a fool of yourself."

"S-sorry," Hanatarou stuttered.

"Don't be so mean to him, Seinosuke," Unohana chided. "He's the one injured here."

"Clumsy as ever," Seinosuke muttered. Hanatarou shrunk under his glare.

"I told you to stop it." Unohana didn't even look at her lieutenant, but the man immediately backed down.

"Yes, madam."

"Good," she nodded. "And now you, young man," she said turning towards Hitsugaya. The white-haired boy gulped. The Yonbantai taichou looked perfectly calm, but there was something about her that made him feel like a little kid again. _'Not even Granny can be this scary.'_ "What kind of behavior is that? Climbing on trees and falling on people?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to..." _'see you,' _was what he wanted to say, but then he realized it sounded stupid. Like Momo's obsession with Aizen.

"I understand," Unohana said. "Just don't do it again."

"He won't," a familiar voice sounded from nearby. _'Uh-oh,' _Hitsugaya thought. It was Watanabe-sensei and he didn't sound happy. Hitsugaya had a sinking feeling about this. Watanabe turned to him. He was scowling.

"You knew you shouldn't have gotten into any more trouble," he said. Hitsugaya nodded mutely. He didn't trust his own voice. "And here you are causing trouble in front of a captain! You're going to get expelled for it!" _'Expelled?' _Hitsugaya couldn't believe his ears. Hinamori inhaled sharply.

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Unohana asked quietly. "Or do you regularly expel students for climbing trees?"

"He was already on probation," the teacher explained. "He knew what would happen if he caused any more trouble."

"Still, he didn't want to fall," the captain continued. "Wouldn't it be a shame to expel a talented student over something so trivial?" She turned to Hitsugaya. "Is that your zanpakutou?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"It's unusual to have one while still in the Academy," she commented. "What year are you in?"

"The third, captain Unohana," Toushirou answered.

"A zanpakutou in only three years? That's truly impressive," she nodded.

"Actually," Hinamori spoke, "Shirou-chan started only this year. He got already moved up a year twice."

"That's even rarer," Unohana stated. "He's going to be a great asset to the Gotei 13 one day. And you would have him expelled just because he was curious." Now Watanabe was sweating. "It's natural in his age. Or is he a chronic troublemaker?"

"No," Watanabe answered.

"Good," Unohana smiled. Watanabe paled. "And now I should proceed with the inspection." Then she looked at Hanatarou. "And I would be pleased to see you in my division."

"Y-yes!" the boy beamed. Seinosuke sneered derogatorily, but made sure that Unohana won't see him. Hanatarou's shoulders sagged. Then the captain and her lieutenant turned and left. Once they were out of sight, Hinamori turned to Hitsugaya.

"I told you not to climb the tree!"

"And you climbed it too!" he retorted. "And I told you not to call me Shirou-chan and you did it in front of a captain!"

"And you got in trouble in front of a captain! And what was the stuff about a probation?" she demanded.

"It's nothing," he tried to brush it off, but Momo was persistent.

"A probation is not nothing!" she stated. "What did you do?"

"I got in a fight," he admitted.

"I can't believe you could be so stupid! Somebody called you short?"

"No!" he protested. "I'm not that short-tempered. They attacked me! I was only defending myself. Unfortunately no-one saw it, so it was my word against two noblemen. They blamed everything on me."

"Really?" she asked skeptically.

"Really," he nodded.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.

"I didn't want to worry you."

"It was stupid," she chastised him. "If I knew about it..."

"You'd do what?" he interrupted her. "Walk everywhere with me like I was a little kid?"

"You are a little kid," she pointed out.

"I'm not!" he protested.

"You are," she insisted, "and calm down. Do you want to get in trouble again?"

"No." He sighed. "Look, Momo, it's no big deal. I can handle it myself."

"Really?" she wasn't convinced.

"Really," he assured her. "So what do you think about Unohana-taichou?" he changed the topic.

"She's amazing," Hinamori replied. "Almost as much as Aizen-taichou. I wish he could have come today instead." Hitsugaya sighed. He really should have seen it coming. He could only hope that she'd snap out of it soon.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Besides gaining a new unwanted nickname to his collection of unwanted nicknames, the tree-falling incident didn't have any significant impact on Toushirou's life. The teachers didn't threaten him with expulsion again and he didn't see the poor student he had fallen on again either.

Nothing changed in his relationship with Hyourinmaru either. The dragon still stubbornly refused to reveal the release command. Hitsugaya hoped he might get lucky in a dangerous situation, but a trip to the Living World came and went without any incident and in an exercise of battling dummy Hollows he defeated his deformed monkey without breaking a sweat. So no luck there.

But his problem with freezing his room during the night was getting progressively worse until it reached the level it had been on before learning Hyourinmaru's name. Hitsugaya decided that enough was enough. He was going to learn the command today and if the dragon wouldn't want to tell, he'd just have to beat it out of him. He probably wouldn't manage, but it didn't matter. The zanpakutou must want to be released if it was manifesting itself that way. It was only waiting for something from Hitsugaya and the boy was determined to find out what it was today.

So as soon as the classes ended for the day, he grabbed his sword and headed for his now customary spot in the crater. Jinzen, the sword meditation, was now becoming a second nature to him. Shortly after closing his eyes, he found himself on the icy plain facing the huge form of Hyourinmaru.

"**You seem confident today, child,"** Hyourinmaru greeted.

"I am," Hitsugaya answered.

"**Why?"** the dragon questioned.

"Jus because," the boy replied simply. "I decided I'm going to do it today." There was no need to say what. They both knew what this was about.

"**Oh?"** Hyourinmaru raised an eyebrow. **"And what makes you think you can do it?"**

"I don't know," Toushirou shrugged. "I just feel I can do it today so I'm going to do it today."

"**If you insist," **the ice dragon shrugged. **"But don't complain I didn't warn you."**

"I won't." Hitsugaya promised. "Whatever you throw at me, I'm prepared."

"**Really?" **the dragon asked lunging forward. Hitsugaya's body tensed, but he stayed motionless. He remembered his lesson from his earlier attempt. He was supposed to trust Hyourinmaru, not duck in fear. Yet it was extremely hard not to jump away when he saw the huge body of living ice hurling towards him. He closed his eyes and waited for the impact. It never came.

"**You are still scared, child," **Hyourinmaru spoke next to his ear. Hitsugaya opened his eyes. He realized he was shaking.

"Yes," he admitted.

"**But you didn't run."**Hitsugaya didn't answer. He was trying to get his racing heartbeat back under control. **"Maybe there is a chance. Climb on my back." **Hitsugaya's pulse sped up again. The memories of his last flight came to him in a rush. He could only hope that the dragon wouldn't throw him off today.

He took a deep breath in a vain attempt to steady himself and climbed on Hyourinmaru's back. He had thought he was prepared for everything, but when the dragon took flight, it still took him by surprise. It was so much faster. He held on for dear life and hoped that Hyourinmaru won't feel like trying any acrobatics.

His prayers went unheard. Hyourinmaru suddenly performed a pirouette and Hitsugaya nearly fell off again. Hyourinmaru followed it with a couple of somersaults and another twist. By that time Hitsugaya felt like he was going to return his dinner, but somehow he managed to hold on. Then Hyourinmaru finally stopped.

"**So how did you like it?" **he asked with amusement in his voice. Toushirou was shaking on his back, his eyes squeezed shut. Only when the dragon didn't move for long enough he dared to open them. They were even higher than the last time. Back then, he could recognize the major landmarks, but now he couldn't see even the mountains. Under him was only an endless sea of white. Even the clouds looked like tiny puffs of cotton from up there. He looked up. The sky was dark blue and the sun shone blindingly bright. The icy winds ruffled his hair, yet he didn't feel cold.

"It's beautiful here," he said.

"**It is, isn't it?" **Hyourinmaru agreed. Without warning, he plunged into a dive. By some miracle, Toushirou managed to keep his hold, though he felt like his intestines were going to come out his throat. Then Hyourinmaru changed direction abruptly and he was flattened against the dragon's back. In the next moment he felt the sensation of freefall again. But this time he didn't fear he was going to fall off. Somehow during Hyourinmaru's antics he managed to find a way to securely hold on. If he had the time to think about it, he would have found it strange that his fingers found purchase on ice without slipping, but at the moment he was too preoccupied trying to guess what the dragon's next wild maneuver would be.

Sometime during the ride, he realized he was actually enjoying himself. His fear of falling was gone; he didn't even notice it disappearing. His stomach was still protesting the mad changes of direction, but it wasn't as bad as it used to be. As he watched the sky and ground change places at random times, he found himself smiling. A few flips later, he was laughing aloud. He felt the ice scales shake under his fingers and heard a rumbling sound over the howling of the wind. He realized that Hyourinmaru was laughing too.

"**It's fun, isn't it?" **the zanpakutou spirit asked.

"It is!" Hitsugaya shouted.

"**Are you scared?"**

"No!"

"**Good,"**the dragon smiled. **"Maybe you are finally ready."**

"You mean it?" Hitsugaya didn't care that he sounded like a child in a candy shop, who had just heard he can pick anything.

"**Let's see."**

Suddenly Hitsugaya realized he was falling. He didn't remember being thrown off the dragon's back; one moment he was sitting safely and the next he was floating midair. Logically he knew he was probably falling really fast, but the ground was so far away that he couldn't really tell. He didn't understand what was going on.

"Hyourinmaru?" he called. The ice dragon appeared next to him.

"**Child,"** he spoke.

"What's this?" Hitsugaya asked puzzled. Curiosity was the foremost emotion in his mind. Strangely enough, he didn't feel fear. The thought that Hyourinmaru might let him fall to death didn't even enter his head.

"**Do you like flying?"**

"Yes." There was no hint of doubt in his voice. Despite the initial sense of vertigo, he came to enjoy the flight immensely.

"**Can you fly?"**

"No." That was a fact. And it brought his mind to the fact that he was falling from very, very high. And did the ground seem closer? Yet he still wasn't afraid.

"**Do you want to fly?"**

"Yes."

"**Try it," **Hyourinmaru prompted. Hitsugaya looked puzzled. Just how exactly was he supposed to fly? He had no wings. That reminded him that he was still falling, but it felt surreal to him. Like the rapidly approaching ground wasn't his concern at all.

"How do I fly?" he asked looking at the dragon expectantly.

"**You can't. You don't have wings yet. Call on me.****" **Hitsugaya listened intently. **"Call me and we can soar over this frozen skies together! Call me!"**

"Hyourinmaru!" Hitsugaya called. The dragon looked at him expectantly. What else was he supposed to say?

"Fly, Hyourinmaru!" The dragon shook his head.

"Soar, Hyourinmaru!" Toushirou tried something a bit different.

"**That was better, but no,****" **the zanpakutou replied.

"Soar through the skies, Hyourinmaru!" Hitsugaya tried again.

"**Wrong again****," **the dragon shook his head.

"Soar through the frozen skies, Hyourinmaru!"

"**Almost there. Come on, you can get it**** right."**

"Soar over the frozen skies, Hyourinmaru!" The dragon roared in answer. With a graceful movement of his wings he flew over to Hitsugaya. There was a strong gust of icy wind and his vision was blocked by the giant wings. And then he was suddenly back at the crater, sitting on the grass with the bare blade of his zanpakutou laid across his lap. But he could still feel the cold wind on his skin.

He slowly stood up, lifting the sword in front of him. He studied the blade like it was the first time he saw it.

"So, soar over the frozen heaven," he whispered. Then he raised his reiatsu, took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru!" He could hear the dragon roar in response. The air around him turned cold. The moisture in the air concentrated into a mist. A chain with a crescent blade extended from the hilt. Ice formed around the blade. Hitsugaya lifted it above his head. Clouds started gathering in the sky. More ice accumulated around the blade. It was gaining some shape, but he couldn't see it clearly. He swung the sword down with all his might. The ice separated from the blade and shot forward. It grew and lengthened. Hitsugaya could finally see what it was. It was a dragon. The head looked just like Hyourinmaru's, but the body was a simple snake-like one. Toushirou watched in awe as it soared through the air. It looked truly magnificent.

Then it crashed into the wall. There was a loud crash and bricks went flying everywhere. Hitsugaya watched the dust settle. His eyes went wide. A large section of the wall was completely destroyed and the surrounding area was covered in ice. Hitsugaya laughed. Such power. It was wonderful.

"It's great, Hyourinmaru," he said. The dragon roared in response.

"What's going on here?" an unfamiliar voice snapped him out of his reverie. He turned around. There stood a man dressed like an Academy teacher. Hitsugaya didn't know him personally, though he remembered seeing him in the corridors several times. "What destroyed the wall?" It was then when Toushirou realized that destroying walls was probably against the school rules and he was still on probation. Oops.

.*****************************************************************************************.

End notes: So that's it for today. If there wasn't enough action for your tastes, I promise more coming in the next one. There will be also more screentime for canon characters other than Hitsugaya. I originally wanted to have the rest of Hitsugaya's Academy time in one chapter, but it was too big, so I cut it in half. Sorry if it caused the chapters to be a bit unbalanced.

On a better note, chapter 4 is nearly finished, so it should be published soon.

Liked it? Hated it? Let me know.


	4. Goodbye, schooldays

**Author's note:** Thank you for your patience, here finally comes the fourth chapter. I know I promised it sooner than this, but the couple of missing scenes was harder to write than I expected. I'm already working on chapter 5, but don't expect it anytime soon, I have less than a half completed.

Also, as is becoming tradition, I made an illustration for this chapter. You can find it on my DA profile, link is on my author's profile.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach.

**On the Frozen Plain 4 - Goodbye, school**

.*****************************************************************************************.

It took some effort, but Hitsugaya eventually managed to talk his way out of the latest trouble of breaking the wall. Though in reality he wasn't thinking while swinging his sword, he managed to convince them he had shot the attack in a direction where he knew were no people. And he had no idea how devastating it was going to be. No, he didn't even know it would reach that far, honestly, teacher. In the end they let him off with a warning that he should be more careful next time and if he broke the school rules again... they didn't have to finish. He could hear the 'or else' without them having to say it.

He left the Headmaster's office in a bit subdued mood, but still happy. He did it. He had achieved his shikai. He wanted to run around shouting it to everybody and anybody, or at least boast to Hinamori. But it was already late in the evening, so he decided to call it a night. He dreamed of flying. In the morning, he was pleased to find his room free of ice.

Considering he had overslept a bit, he had to race to the classroom. He spent the day in a daze, barely paying attention to what the teachers were saying. Once the last class ended, he picked up Hyourinmaru and headed out in search of Hinamori.

After some effort, he finally located her in the library. She and Kira were studying an advanced Kidou handbook.

"Hello, Toushirou," she greeted. "So what do you need my help with today?"

"Why do you think I need your help?" he shot back. "Can't I just come to talk?"

"Of course you can," she replied, "but you usually don't."

"That's not true," he protested.

"Isn't it?" He realized with a pang that she was right. They didn't just hang out together anymore. They always spent their time studying. They didn't even visit Granny together the last time. And then he realized that it had been a long time since he had visited his home. So much had been going on that he had completely forgotten about it. But once he did think about it, he realized that he missed Granny. He missed her a lot. He resolved to go see her at the closest opportunity.

"Well, maybe it is true," he admitted in embarrassment. "But I didn't come to study today."

"No? What then?" She asked. "And be quick, we have a test tomorrow."

"I've achieved shikai," he announced.

"Really?" she asked. Kira blinked in surprise.

"Really," he confirmed proudly. "And it's really awesome. Do you want to see?"

"Yes," she answered, "but I really have to study now. Maybe tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, then," he replied, a bit saddened.

"Well, maybe I can look today, but only for a moment," Hinamori said upon seeing his downtrodden face. "I need a break from the studying anyway."

"Thanks," Toushirou smiled.

"I'll keep studying," Kira said. "I don't want to intrude on you."

Hitsugaya and Hinamori headed for the training grounds.

"So show it," Momo said once they arrived there. "And if I find out you're pulling my leg..."

"I'm not," he assured her. He drew his sword and pointed it towards a wide patch of grass. "Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru," he said.

This time the ice dragon appeared faster. He swung the blade down and let it fly. The ice serpent flew gracefully through the air until it hit a nearby copse of trees. One tree was immediately destroyed, its trunk snapped in half, and its neighbors were covered in ice.

"Wow," Hinamori whispered wide-eyed. "I wish I could do it too."

"I'm sure you'll do it too," he replied. "You can hear your zanpakutou already. It's just a matter of time."

"Yes," she nodded. "Though I doubt I'll have anything so powerful."

"I'm sure you'll have something better," he tried to reassure her.

"Maybe," she smiled. "I'm sorry if I was babbling. I just... It's weird to see you like this."

"Like what?" Toushirou inquired.

"So strong," she answered. "It's almost like you were all grown up suddenly." Hitsugaya had no idea what to make of that. It must have shown on his face, because Momo shook her head. "I'm not making any sense, am I?"

"Well..." Diplomatic answers weren't Toushirou's strong suite.

"It doesn't matter. I should return to the library. Kira must be worried about me now." She ruffled his hair.

"I'll stay and train," he replied making a step towards the centre of the training ground. His feet got tangled in Hyourinmaru's chain and he fell.

"Looks like you need it," Hinamori giggled. Hyourinmaru laughed too. Hitsugaya pouted harder. Hinamori left.

Hitsugaya stayed in the training field shooting ice dragons until he got too tired. He soon found out that even if his shikai was powerful, it was a bit unwieldy. The dragons were slow and he had trouble aiming them. Hyourinmaru assured him that it would get better with training. Lots and lost of training, he added seeing Toushirou's latest attempt.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Despite his initial difficulties, Hitsugaya was getting the hang of his shikai quickly. Increasing the speed was easy, in required merely adding more power. Steering was a lot trickier, but after three weeks he could change the dragon's direction mid-flight. As he was dancing with joy, Hyourinmaru reminded him that this was still the basic of basics. It couldn't sour Hitsugaya's mood.

Soon after that, they went on another exercise to the Living World. A Hollow appeared, but one of the teachers purified it before the students could draw their weapons. The incident reminded Toushirou of something. He was still carrying his zanpakutou around like a cane, having trouble to draw it quickly if the need arose. Hyourinmaru had promised him that it would change once he achieved shikai, but so far nothing had happened.

He asked Hyourinmaru about it the next evening.

"**I'm glad you finally asked," **the dragon replied. **"I'm tired of that old sheath too."**

"So what should I do?" Hitsugaya asked.

"**Create a new sheath," **the spirit answered.

"How? And what would be a difference?" the boy questioned.

"**I****t will be a disappearing sheath," **the zanpakutou spirit explained.

"Huh?" His expression must have been priceless, because Hyourinmaru chuckled, something the dragon didn't do often.

"**Yes, chi****ld," **Hyourinmaru nodded.** "The sheath can appear and disappear at will. You won't have to worry about not being able to draw me again, you'll just wish the sheath to dissolve."**

"That sounds cool," Hitsugaya commented. "But how do I do it?"

"**Create a sheath of ice."**

"Won't it thaw?" he scrunched his brow thoughtfully.

"**No," **Hyourinmaru answered sounding mildly offended. **"My ice doesn't thaw, if done properly."**

"So how do I do it?" the boy asked.

"**Do you really have to ask? You can command ice and so can I. It should be easy."**

"If you say so," Hitsugaya shrugged uncertainly and left his mindscape.

"So a sheath of ice," he muttered to himself studying the naked blade of Hyourinmaru. He imagined how the sheath should look like. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling of the moisture in the air. It was something he was only beginning to learn and it felt strange at best. But it was connected to Hyourinmaru's abilities, so it wasn't like he had a choice. Besides, controlling the weather sounded cool, even if it wasn't much useful in battle. He let the vapor connect with his reiatsu and then prodded it to float towards his blade. After a while, he opened his eyes. There was a bulky, deformed lump of ice around his sword.

"_**I'd be ashamed to show myself in something like this in public," **_Hyourinmaru evaluated his work.

"_Sorry," _Hitsugaya thought. He concentrated on the ice again and wished it to dissipate. It broke apart into tiny shards.

"_**That won't do either,"**_ the zanpakutou spirit commented. _**"Would I have to do it myself?"**_

"_You can?"_ Toushirou asked. _"Then why do I have to do it?"_

"_**Because I say so."**_

"_Hey! Don't order me around! You are my sword!"_

"_**So?" **_Hitsugaya couldn't see the dragon, but he could just hear him shrug. _**"This is something you have to learn on your own, so don't whine. It will help with your control."**_

"_If you say so,"_ Hitsugaya shrugged. He tried again. The result wasn't any better than the first time.

"_**See how much do you have to practice?"**_The boy could just hear the 'I told you so' in the dragon's voice.

"_Yes,__" _he admitted.

"_**Then don't just sit around. There's still plenty of time before bedtime."**_

.*****************************************************************************************.

The rest of his third year was fairly boring. He spent his time practicing his shikai and sheath creating and dissolving. He still couldn't do it as quickly as he would like, but he was getting better. At least it finally looked like a sheath, so he could carry the sword on his back and have both hands empty. Sometime in the meantime he found enough time to study hard enough to be moved to the fourth year at the half-year mark. It made him happy. He told Hinamori that he was going to graduate together with her. She smiled at him and replied that the last three years had harder curriculum that the first three. He stated confidently that he wasn't going to let that stop him. Momo wished him luck, though she expressed her doubts he'd be able to accomplish it. Hitsugaya took it as a prompt to try harder, even though he was already doing his best.

Otherwise, his fourth year was rather unremarkable. He didn't make any friends there, only partly because he had no time for socializing. He had earned a reputation as a prodigy by that time. People tended to point at him and whisper behind his back when they met him in the corridors. It bothered him, it made him feel like some sort of exotic creature on display, but he eventually learned to ignore it. Mostly. That's why he learned to keep an expression of indifference whenever in public. It earned him a reputation of being cold, stuck-up and arrogant. He thought it was a tad bit better than being considered a whiny brat.

When people talked to him, it was usually because they wanted him to help with their studies. Hitsugaya sometimes agreed. There were also some jerks who couldn't stomach being bested by a child, but none of them were as bad as Yoshitsuna. Also his three-month probation had ended, so he could take more proactive approach when dealing with them. He soon convinced them to leave him alone.

Then he moved up into the fifth year. It was much like the fourth, though he had to agree with Hinamori that the curriculum got harder. But as he got stronger and more skilled, he found it also easier to learn new things. Many of them were just more refined variation of the skills he had already learned.

Being moved to the sixth year brought on more changes than all his previous movings. And it wasn't just because the sixth years were more intensely prepared for their future carriers, including more practical exercises. The main reason was that now he was in the same class with Momo.

When Oounabara-sensei announced to the class that they were going to get a new student and Toushirou walked through the door, Hinamori couldn't believe her eyes. Though she really shouldn't have been, because, as Hitsugaya elaborately put it, 'he told her so.'

"It's really weird," Momo commented. "You were always that little boy and suddenly you are in the same class with me. Guess I shouldn't call you Shirou-chan anymore."

"Hey! You promised you'd stop it when I go to the Academy! So why are you still doing it?" Toushirou complained.

"Because you'll always be my little Shirou-chan," she answered ruffling his hair. Hitsugaya pouted. Renji laughed.

"I think you're stuck with the stupid nickname forever." Hitsugaya privately agreed, but that didn't mean he liked it.

"What's stupid about it?" Momo asked. Nobody bothered to answer.

"But it is weird to have you here," Abarai said. "I mean, you only started this year and now you're in the graduating class."

"It is weird," Hitsugaya agreed. "I never expected to be that good."

"Maybe good at book learning," Renji scoffed. "But are you good at fighting too?"

"Do you want to see?" Toushirou challenged.

"Not now," Hinamori interjected. "Or do you want to get into trouble again?"

"No," they both answered in unison.

"But I still want to show you what a real fighter is like," the redhead added.

"You'll get your chance in class," Momo said.

"That's right, we have practice this afternoon," Renji remembered. "Well, shrimp, I hope we're paired together."

"I hope too," Hitsugaya scowled. "I mean to explain you what I think about people who call me shrimp."

"I'm looking forward to it."

.*****************************************************************************************.

First kenjutsu lesson with the Sixth years turned out to be quite a memorable occasion. The upper years spent more time sparring than practicing stances, in an effort to give them battle experience before sending them to truly dangerous situations.

Hitsugaya weighted the handle of his bokken. He would have much preferred Hyourinmaru, but real zanpakutou weren't allowed in this spars. The Academy didn't want their students accidentally killing each other when things got out of hand. Yet he didn't like fighting with an unfamiliar short blade against the opponent he was paired against today. It was the best swordsman in the Sixth year advanced class, and therefore probably the best swordsman among all the Academy students: Abarai Renji. But it was exactly the person he wanted to fight against, so his fighting spirit was high.

Though Abarai was one of Momo's friends, Hitsugaya didn't spend much time around him. Renji was always too absorbed in his training, striving to surpass his 'rival' – Captain Kuchiki. His friends considered it a ridiculous goal, but Toushirou disagreed. Sure, it was awfully high to aim, but with a set objective in sight, the path forward seemed clearer. Hitsugaya himself didn't know where he was aiming. The goal of controlling his reiatsu was still just outside his arm's reach and he never really thought beyond that. But considering how easily he did at school, he thought he might be able to get far. For the moment, he was content simply with walking forward and seeing, where the path would lead him.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on it. There was a fight to be fought and though it was just a spar, it required his complete attention. Especially considering who his opponent was. He had never really sparred with him before, Renji always claimed that he had no need to fight children, which irked Hitsugaya to no end, but the older student had helped him with some of his moves before. Toushirou had only a vague idea what to expect, besides a tough battle.

They bowed politely to each other and assumed their basic stances.

"Begin," Oounabara-sensei said and Renji wasted no time. He stepped forward and swung his bokken at Hitsugaya's neck. The younger boy ducked under the wooden blade and tried to stab his stomach. The redhead sidestepped. Toushirou tried to attack again, but found his blade blocked with Abarai's. Then a kick to his stomach sent him skidding backwards. Yes, Renji was indeed good. But so was Hitsugaya.

The kick hadn't been hard enough to knock out his breath, so he could immediately spring to action. He pretended to attack Abarai's midsection, and when the redhead moved to block, he jumped over his sword. Renji didn't expect it and hesitated for a second. Toushirou capitalized on it and kicked his face. The older student made a step back, but otherwise the attack inflicted no damage. Or more precisely, no damage to Abarai's body. His ego seemed to have suffered a direct hit.

His brow furrowed and his next charge was reckless. Hitsugaya could easily read his movement and avoid the blade from a mile away. He also managed to slam his bokken into his forearm, nearly making the taller boy drop his weapon.

Renji took a step back. He realized that rage was a bad advisor and he had to get a grip on himself, if he didn't want to end up beaten on the mats. He took a deep breath trying to calm down, but Hitsugaya didn't give him the time. He was on him in an instant and showered him with a flurry of attacks. Renji managed to block all of them. After a while he even got a counterattack in. Toushirou winced. He managed to stop the attack, but just barely. Abarai was indeed strong. He wondered whether it was the time to use more of his reiatsu, but he wasn't sure what the teacher would have to say to that.

Before he could decide, Renji struck again, and this time even harder. Hitsugaya tried to deflect it, but was forced to his knees. Renji retracted his bokken in preparation for the finishing blow. Toushirou didn't wait for it to fall and slashed at Renji's knees. He got lucky. He managed to hit a reflex point and Abarai's leg twitched uncontrollably, throwing him off balance. Hitsugaya was quick to capitalize on it. He stabbed, putting the whole weight of his body behind it. The tip of his bokken slammed into Renji's solar plexus. The redhead grunted and fell on his backside.

Hitsugaya jumped to his feet. Now was his chance. He pounced on the older boy with all his might. Abarai managed to block his sword, but received a kick to his stomach. And to the exact same spot Toushirou's sword hit before. What air still remained in him left his lungs with a huff. He collapsed to the ground and curled into a ball. He didn't even see Hitsugaya's next strike fall.

"Enough!" the instructor called. "Winner – Hitsugaya."

"I... can... still... fight," Renji panted pushing himself to sitting position. His eyes shone with determination. He wanted to defeat a shinigami captain, so there was no way he'd lose to a child.

"You don't look that way," the teacher observed. "Just go and sit until you feel better."

"I... can... fight," the redhead repeated stubbornly. "I... haven't... lost... yet."

"You did," the teacher repeated.

"He got... lucky."

"Maybe," the instructor shrugged, "but that's life."

"Maybe you'll get lucky next time," Hitsugaya said.

"I won't... need luck... to... defeat you," the redhead stated.

"Than let's see next time," Toushirou said.

"Yes, and you two get off the tatami," Oounabara interrupted them. "Next pair! Come here!"

Renji grumbled, but he obediently went to his place between Hinamori and Kira. Hitsugaya saw that it won't be wise to sit close to him now, but he couldn't do anything else than take his place on the other side of Hinamori.

"Don't be so down, Abarai-kun," the girl whispered.

"Hn."

"You knew Shirou-chan was good." Now there were two grunts from either side of her.

"You did well," Kira tried to cheer him up, but Kira trying to cheer anyone up was a lost cause, no matter what he did.

"I still lost to a kid," the redhead grumbled.

"Don't feel bad about it," Momo said. "Toushirou is a genius."

"We'll see about it," Renji muttered. Then he glared at Hitsugaya. "Next time, you are going down."

"Stop talking!" the instructor's voice interrupted them. They spent the rest of the lesson in silence, but the tension between them didn't dissipate.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Things settled into a routine afterwards. Hitsugaya spent more time with Hinamori and her friends. It was only natural because they were now attending the same classes and studying the same subjects. Renji was still smarting from his loss and challenged Hitsugaya to a duel on any occasion. Toushirou welcomed the opportunities for the extra spars. As all the books and teachers agreed, he could improve best only through gaining experience. Abarai was ecstatic when he won their second match, but the third one ended in a tie and the fourth went to Hitsugaya, as did every other after that. The extra practice made the young boy improve faster than Abarai, and the redhead took it hard. He saw it as his personal failure in his quest to surpass Kuchiki-taichou. But thankfully he didn't become bitter because of it. He took it as a sign to train harder. Soon, there was no-one in the class who could come close to his swordsmanship skill bared Hitsugaya. The two boys found themselves in a fierce rivalry, that was mellowed down thanks to the presence of Hinamori. Even though both of them did their best to beat each other bloody during their duels, they could laugh it off or sit down to study together afterwards. Things seemed to be going well.

.*****************************************************************************************.

They were sitting in the study room, going through an advanced Kidou textbook. The end of the year was drawing near and with it the final exams, something that weighted heavily on all students. Everybody was training and studying their hardest, wanting to achieve good results. Even Abarai sat down and studied, despite his preference to any other style of combat beside Kidou, but he reasoned that it wouldn't make a good impression if his attempt exploded into the faces of the committee.

But that wasn't all that occupied the students' thoughts. What came afterwards was also important.

"So what division do you want to join?" Momo asked suddenly.

"What?" Hitsugaya was busy memorizing the chant for Bakudou # 69 and didn't hear her question.

"I asked what division do you want to join," she repeated.

"I didn't really think about it," Toushirou replied. "I guess whichever would take me."

"With your scores?" Kira raised an eyebrow. "They are going to fight over you."

"I guess," Hitsugaya shrugged.

"So which one do you want to join?" Momo asked again.

"I haven't decided yet," the white-haired boy answered.

"I decided a long time ago," the girl said. "I'm going to join the Fifth. That's Captain Aizen's division." Toushirou sighed. And things had been going so well. In the months since he entered the Academy Hinamori had barely mentioned Aizen and he had thought she finally got over him. But his hopes were just crushed. Her starry-eyed expression let him know that she was still his most devoted fangirl.

"I think I'll join the Fifth too," Kira said. "Captain Aizen is very strong and he saved our lives."

"I want to join the Sixth," Renji spoke. All of his friends sighed. His obsession with surpassing Captain Kuchiki was a source of great exasperation for them.

"Why not the Thirteenth?" Hinamori asked. "That's where Rukia is, isn't it?"

"No," Renji shook his head, "the Sixth. That's where Kuchiki-taichou is. Or maybe the Fifth, if that's where the both of you are going."

"Come to the Fifth too, Shirou-chan," Momo suggested. "That way we'll be all together."

"No." The answer was out before he could think about it.

"Why not?" Hinamori asked puzzled. "Captain Aizen is great." She couldn't understand why Shirou-chan couldn't see it.

"And you're his greatest fangirl," he replied. "I don't want to watch you making puppy eyes on him all day long."

"Toushirou!" she scowled. "I do no such thing!"

"Could have fooled me, Bed-wetter," he snapped back.

"Now, really," she said, sounding offended. "What do you have against Captain Aizen? You never even met him."

"I don't have anything against him," he answered. "I just don't worship the ground he walks on."

"So why don't you want to join the Fifth?" she asked again.

"I just don't," he stated. "Isn't that enough for you?"

"No, it isn't," she replied firmly. "You're being unreasonable, Shirou-chan."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" he snapped.

"Now, now," Kira interjected, "there's no need to shout. Hitsugaya-kun has a right to his own opinion."

"Well, he does," Hinamori admitted, "but he's being stupid."

"I think he's just wary of your devotion to Aizen-taichou," the blond said. "But that's understandable. Aizen-taichou didn't save him, remember?"

"I know, but still," the girl answered. "He acts like he dislikes him."

"What gave it away?" Hitsugaya muttered sarcastically.

"So you do dislike him!" Momo said victoriously. "Honestly, Shirou-chan, you're being childish."

"I am a child," he replied. "What is you're excuse?"

"What?" Momo blinked.

"You spend all the time singing praises to Aizen and you're convinced he can do nothing wrong," Hitsugaya elaborated. "I'm still waiting for you to claim the Sun shines from his ass."

"Toushirou!" Hinamori admonished him, but he ignored her.

"I get that he saved your life, but he was just doing his job, got it? Don't think you're special to him. He probably already forgot you exist," the white-haired boy said.

"He patted my head," she said.

"Your point?" he shrugged.

"Isn't that enough?" Hinamori asked.

"Not really," he shook his head. "Admit it, Momo. You know next to nothing about him and yet you worship the ground he walks on. This cannot end well."

"Do you have to be like this all the time?" she scowled. "Can't you let a girl dream?"

"No, if it's going to get you hurt," Hitsugaya replied.

"I see I'm not going to convince you," she sighed. "But no matter what you say, I'm going to join the Fifth Division."

"Well, no matter what you say, I'm not," he retorted.

"Shouldn't we concentrate on our studies?" Kira pointed out.

"Yes," Toushirou agreed. "This discussion would be pointless if we failed."

.*****************************************************************************************.

Going out to hunt real Hollows was one of the last exercises the students of the advanced class did. Usually that was a time of great anxiety for the students, because they would have to face Hollows on their own for the first time, but this year was different. The anxiety was still there, but all of the students have encountered real Hollows before. But considering what had happened that time, some of them were even more scared than if they didn't know what to expect. Once again, the students were divided into groups of three via symbols on little papers. Hitsugaya looked at his. A leaf. So who was he teamed up with this time? He was pleasantly surprised when he found out that one of his teammates was Hinamori. He was less pleased when he discovered the other one to be Abarai, but it made Hinamori happy, so he would bear with it. Now they only waited for their assigned guide.

"Who has a leaf?" a familiar voice called. Hitsugaya first thought his senses were playing a trick on him, but when he turned, she stood there. She didn't change a bit in nearly a year since he had seen her.

"You're that crazy lady!" he blurted out.

"Don't be rude, Shirou-chan," Momo scolded him.

"You," Matsumoto walked to him. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in first year?"

"I skipped a few years," Hitsugaya explained. "I'm in the sixth now."

"Whatever you say," she shrugged. Then she grabbed him and hugged him to her bosom so tightly he couldn't breath. "And don't call me lady! It's miss!" She released Toushirou and the boy sucked in air frantically. The crazy woman nearly suffocated him! She really was crazy!

"You know her?" Abarai asked. Hitsugaya nodded. "Who is she?"

"She's that crazy lady who dragged me here." The next moment he found himself smothered in Matsumoto's humongous cleavage again.

"I told you not to call me lady!"

"Man, I envy you," Renji commented once she let her victim go.

"I don't understand why," Hitsugaya replied. "She's trying to kill me."

"But what a way to go!" the redhead grinned. "Nice job, lady!" Matsumoto smacked him over the head.

"Don't call me lady!"

"No suffocating in your boobs for me?" Renji pouted. Matsumoto smacked him again.

"If nobody has anything more to say, let's go," Matsumoto decided. She didn't wait for their reactions and shunpoed away. The three students had to strain their abilities to keep up with her. Finally, after a time that seemed too long for the three of them, she stopped. Hitsugaya and Abarai were winded, Hinamori was panting hard.

"What is it?" Matsumoto scowled. "Can't you take a little bit of running?"

"You... call... this... a bit... of... running?" Renji panted.

"It wasn't... so bad," Toushirou said. Momo couldn't catch her breath for long enough to say anything.

"And to think you are the best the Academy has to offer," Rangiku scoffed. "The standards must have dropped since I've left." In truth, she was deeply impressed. She had set a fast pace on purpose and she had fully expected to lose them halfway. The fact that they were able to keep up spoke volumes about their abilities. But there was no reason to let them think too highly of themselves – that was just the kind of thing that got young talented shinigami killed.

"So now everybody's finally here, we're going after the Hollow," Matsumoto announced.

"Now?" Hinamori asked with panic in her voice.

"Of course!" the busty woman chided. "Or do you want to ask the Hollow to wait until you rest?"

"No," the girl answered.

"So now let's go," Rangiku said. "Or are you too scared of your first Hollow?"

"It's not our first," Renji said.

"Oh?" Matsumoto raised an eyebrow.

"We were attacked by a swarm of giant Hollows on our first field trip," Hinamori explained. She finally caught her breath and could speak normally.

"Oh, so that was you," Matsumoto stated.

"You heard about it?" Abarai inquired.

"Gin told me," she answered.

"Gin?" Hitsugaya inquired.

"Ichimaru-fukutaichou," she clarified. "But now I think about it, you weren't there," she pointed at Hitsugaya.

"No," Toushirou confirmed, "but I fought a Hollow on my first field trip too."

"Did you?" Matsumoto raised an eyebrow. "And who came to save you?"

"Nobody," he replied. "I killed it."

"Really?" she asked skeptically. "Could you even reach its mask?"

"I'm not that short!" he scowled.

"Could have fooled me," the blonde retorted.

Before Hitsugaya could respond to that, they all felt foul reiatsu close by. They turned to face its source.

"Well, the Hollow is near," Matsumoto said. "It's your showtime, kiddies." She waved her arm to indicate that they were supposed to go ahead. The three students shunpoed in the direction.

They saw the Hollow almost immediately. It was nothing impressive, as far as Hollows went. It was rather small, resembling vaguely a deformed dog, and its reiatsu was weak too. It looked almost pathetic compared to what they had encountered before.

"This is going to be a piece of cake," Abarai commented. "I can take it himself."

"We are supposed to show cooperation," Hitsugaya reminded him.

"And just how do you want to cooperate against this? One whack is all it takes," the redhead claimed.

"It does look weak," Toushirou agreed. "So who should do it?" Instead of an answer, Renji marched straight at the Hollow. He unsheathed his blade as he walked. When he was just a few paces away, he attacked. But the Hollow wasn't idle. As Abarai's sword arced down on it, it jumped high over the blade. It was much faster than they gave it credit for. Renji only blinked stupidly when his target seemingly disappeared right in front of his eyes.

The Hollow headed straight for Hinamori. The girl had just enough time to draw her sword and put it in its path. The Hollow was stopped in its progress. It screeched loudly, because Momo's blade cut a chunk of its shoulder. The next moment Hitsugaya was on it, splitting its mask. The Hollow dispersed into spirit particles.

"So you could handle it alone, huh?" Toushirou asked. Renji glared.

"Well, I could," he insisted. "If you didn't butt in..."

"You would stand there staring," Hitsugaya finished for him.

"Hey!" Renji protested.

"Quit it, you two," Hinamori interjected.

"Good job," said Matsumoto appearing next to them. "It usually takes longer to defeat the Hollow."

"This one was weak," Momo said.

"But there's something wrong," Hitsugaya mused aloud.

"What would be wrong?" Renji shrugged. "We got the Hollow and that's it."

"That's it!" Toushirou shouted, his eyes widening. "Where did it have its hole?"

"What?" Abarai blinked.

"On the chest?" Hinamori offered. "I didn't have time to look."

"It didn't have a hole," Hitsugaya stated.

"What?" Momo blinked. "But all Hollows have a hole."

"Unless they're a detachment of something bigger," Toushirou remembered his lessons.

"Are you sure it didn't have a hole?" Matsumoto asked. "I don't feel anything else nearby."

"Yes," the white-haired boy answered just as a wave of sinister reiatsu washed over them.

"It's strong," Hinamori whispered gripping the handle of her zanpakutou tighter.

"We've survived worse," Abarai said.

"How did it get a drop on us?" Matsumoto wondered scanning the surroundings for a threat. Haineko was already in her hand.

"Does it really matter now?" Hitsugaya asked. "Can anyone tell where it is?"

"There!" Hinamori yelled. She flash-stepped forward and whacked the frog-like Hollow across its mask. It disappeared, but the reiatsu didn't.

"Another detachment," Matsumoto said. As soon as she finished, more appeared. Three of them immediately attacked her. She dispatched two of them before they could hit, but the third one had enough time to spit. It was destroyed in the next instant, but the damage had been already done. The reddish cloud of whatever the Hollow ejected from its mouth connected with her face. Matsumoto coughed violently and collapsed to her knees, trying to wipe her eyes with the sleeve of her shihakusho.

"Crap!" Renji cursed. Hitsugaya had to agree with him. Their strongest fighter was down and the fight had barely begun. And there were more frog-like parts of a still unseen Hollow gathering around, ready to spit their red whatever at them.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru!" Hitsugaya shouted. This wasn't the time to pull any punches. The ice dragon formed above his blade and Toushirou sent it flying at the nearest group of Hollows. The ice serpent tore into them effortlessly, destroying them like flies, but there were more of them. Many more. In the next moment, he had to block one that jumped over his attack and tried to tear off his head. Hitsugaya's strike froze and shattered it, but not before it managed to spit a little of its poison. Hitsugaya closed his eyes and held his breath, yet he felt an urge to sneeze and his eyes filled with tears. It was stinging. Badly.

"G _–cough-_ grow _–cough-_ owl, _-cough, cough-_ Hai _–cough-_ aine _–cough, cough-_ neko _–cough, cough cough-_," Matsumoto managed to stutter between coughs. She didn't know whether it would work, but her blade did obediently turn into ash. She swung the hilt and directed her weapon to where she sensed the enemy. She still couldn't see.

Hitsugaya evaluated the situation. Matsumoto was barely holding her own, Abarai was whacking at anything in vicinity with mixed success and Hinamori was preparing a Hadou, though her chanting was interrupted with occasional coughs. And there were more clouds of the tear-gas or whatever it was floating around. If something didn't happen quickly, all of them will end up a sobbing, coughing mess on the ground that would turn into Hollow fodder shortly thereafter. And he had no idea where the main body of the Hollow was.

He heard Hyourinmaru rumble in his mind. He couldn't understand the words, but he knew the dragon was urging him to fight. He sent the attack flying and destroyed a couple more detachments, but it seemed like there was no end to them. And to top it off, he couldn't even see them clearly thanks to the tears in his eyes and the shadows of the overcast sky.

Wait – overcast? There was an idea. If it started raining now... He concentrated on his link with Hyourinmaru. This was something he barely tried before, but he knew he could do it. He released more reiatsu and the clouds over his head darkened.

"Tensou Juurin," he whispered. He concentrated on the water surrounding him. It was always a weird feeling, being suddenly so large yet so insubstantial. He turned his attention to the clouds overhead. _'Rain,' _he wished. He could feel the moisture coming together, forming bigger drops and beginning to fall to the ground. Then something smashed into him and snapped him out of his trance. He realized with a start that he had zoned out so badly that he didn't notice one of the Hollow-frogs jumping at him. If it wasn't for Hinamori's timely intervention, he would be now sporting a hole through his chest But now Momo lay on the ground clutching her bleeding side. He quickly slashed the Hollow that had hurt her and it disappeared. But there were more and they were spitting their troublesome red gas. But then the first droplets of rain fell. _'Rain harder,' _Hitsugaya wished. He didn't dare to raise his reiatsu further; he might end up freezing the rain and snow wouldn't be so effective in washing the tear-gas from the air.

For the time being, they couldn't do anything but fight. Hitsugaya soon realized that trying to wash a gas from the atmosphere wasn't his brightest idea, but thankfully the red clouds had some solid component, so it became less potent in the rain. Their eyes were still filled with tears, but at least they didn't have to cough and sneeze all the time. Even Matsumoto regained her ability to breathe and joined the fray.

Then suddenly the frog-Hollows backed off. Hitsugaya realized that there were much less of them. _'So it seems there isn't an endless supply of them after all,' _he thought. It did little to calm him. They had yet to see the main body and they were already badly beaten. All of them were bleeding from numerous gashes, had trouble seeing and Hinamori was so weakened by blood loss that she could barely stand.

"We should _–cough-_ call for help," Hitsugaya said.

"Yes," Hinamori agreed. "Why didn't we _–sneeze-_ earlier?"

"At first it _–cough-_ didn't seem so bad _–sneeze-_ and then we _–cough-_ were too busy _–cough-_ staying alive," Matsumoto explained.

"Call now!" Hitsugaya shouted. Matsumoto nodded and pulled a Hell Butterfly from her sleeve.

"This _–cough- _is Matsumo _–cough- _to Rangiku. Requesting _–cough- _help. We..."

That was as far as she got before she was forced to dodge a big white something that suddenly shot towards her from behind the sleets of rain. Unfortunately the butterfly wasn't as fast and it got flattened on the ground.

"Damn!" she shouted and sent the ashes of Haineko after the protrusion. It disappeared before it could hit. Hitsugaya shot an ice dragon in the direction it came from, but hit only a tree. In the next moment he more sensed than saw something heading towards him and put his sword into its path at the last moment. The impact was still strong enough to send him flying. As he landed, two of the detachments immediately jumped at him. He destroyed one with his blade and the other with the sickle-chain. He quickly got to his feet and shunpoed back to the rest of the group.

He arrived just in time to see the main Hollow appear. His first impression was that it was huge. The second one was that it looked like a bigger version of the detachments, only with a hole through its chest, marking it as the main body. His third one was that it could shoot its tongue from its mouth very quickly. Fortunately Matsumoto was able to dodge.

"**Very good," **the Hollow spoke, **"But it isn't enough to save you."**

Hitsugaya aimed another of his ice dragons at its mask, but the Hollow jumped over it. He tried to change the course of the ice missile, but he still wasn't good enough to hit it midair.

"Look out!" Renji shouted. Hitsugaya realized that the Hollow was going to land on them. He grabbed Hinamori, who didn't seem to notice it, and shunpoed away. When he heard the crash and saw the crater the Hollow made upon impact, he couldn't help but wince. It would have been very bad if anybody stayed there.

Matsumoto jumped high, trying to slice the Hollow's mask in half, but it turned out her eyesight was still pretty bad. She cut deep into its shoulder, but considering the sheer size of that thing, the wound was like mere papercut. She cursed and jumped back to avoid its shooting tongue. Hitsugaya sent an ice dragon after it, but even he had some trouble with depth perception, so the attack went wide.

"**What's the problem?" **the Hollow laughed. **"Can't you se what you're doing?"**

"Shut up!" Renji shouted. He flashed forward, trying to cut one of its legs.

"Look out!" Hitsugaya yelled, but it was already too late. The Hollow's tongue hit Abarai in the chest. The redhead slumped to the ground.

"**There goes one,"** the monster said. How could it speak with its tongue out was anybody's guess. It wrapped Renji in its tongue and tried to swallow him. Hitsugaya appeared beside him and swung his chain-blade in a wide crescent. The chain wrapped around the Hollow's tongue. Hitsugaya sent more reiatsu into it and the tongue froze. He then pulled on the chain and the tongue shattered.

"**No!" **the monster screamed. **"Not my tongue!"**

Toushirou grinned. They managed to wound it. In the next moment he was forced to dodge its front paw, which suddenly sprouted long claws. He barely made it. But by that time Matsumoto rejoined the fight, the ashes from her sword making deep gashes on the Hollow's leg. And a few appeared on Hitsugaya's arms as well.

"Look where you swing it!" he shouted.

"Sorry," she answered, but it didn't sound particularly repentant.

"We've got to _-sneeze-_ destroy it soon," Hitsugaya stated.

"No kidding there," Rangiku replied sarcastically. "And how do _–cough-_ you propose we _–cough-_ do it?"

At the moment, blue fire shot through the air. Hitsugaya turned his head in surprise. They both had completely forgotten about Hinamori. Now the girl was sitting on the wet grass, her hands still in the position of firing a Soukatsui.

Momo had much better aim than anyone else. The Crash of Blue Fire hit the Hollow right in the middle of its mask. It roared in pain.

"Now!" Hitsugaya shouted jumping in the air. Matsumoto was already in front of him. She raised her reiatsu to the limit and Hitsugaya suddenly found he had trouble breathing. But that could be just the effects of the tear gas still floating around. Matsumoto swung with all her might, but the Hollow wasn't as disoriented as they wished. It managed to move at the last moment and Matsumoto's strike chipped only a small part of its mask. But by that time Hitsugaya attacked as well. By avoiding Haineko, the Hollow got right into the path of Hyourinmaru's ice dragon. At least a third of its mask was broken off, but that thing still refused to die. It swung its healthy clawed forepaw at Hitsugaya and the boy realized he had no way of dodging it midair. But than the paw suddenly veered off course, caught in... something. Toushirou couldn't recognize what it was, but he could see that Renji was holding it. And though he couldn't make out his face, somehow it looked like the redhead was grinning ear-to-ear.

There was a loud crack. Hitsugaya looked up and saw the Hollow's mask splitting under Matsumoto's sword. It seemed that this time it finally had enough. It slowly started dissipating into spirit particles; its detachments disappearing first.

Hitsugaya dropped to the ground.

"I did it!" Renji shouted excitedly. He waved around his newly acquired shikai. Toushirou had to duck under the whip-saw-blade, or whatever it was.

"Be careful where you swing that thing!" He shouted over his shoulder. He had no time to be angry at the redhead. His only concern now was Hinamori.

The girl seemed to have spent the last of her strength on casting the Kidou and was now slumped on the grass. Even the white parts of her school uniform now were red.

"Momo!" he shouted as he ran to her, sheathing his sword on the way. He dropped to his knees beside her. "Momo! Can you hear me?" She nodded weakly.

"We have to get her to the Fourth," Matsumoto spoke from behind him. He nearly jumped. He completely missed her approach. "We all need _–cough- _to get there. We don't _–cough- _know, what that gas was." He completely agreed with her.

"But we're _–cough- _barely moving," he pointed out.

"And I don't have _–cough- _another butterfly."

"Don't you have the transmitter, _-sneeze- _like the other instructors had?"

"Broken," she grimaced. "At the beginning."

"How can something so important break so easily?" he wondered.

"Hey, don't look at me. Blame it on the Twelfth."

Momo moaned in pain.

"We've got to stop the bleeding," Hitsugaya said. He tried to remember the correct healing Kidou. Unfortunately his brain didn't feel like cooperating today. Temporary closing of wounds. Was it Bakudou #23 or Bakudou #32? No, that was a barrier. Or was it #46? Suddenly he couldn't remember. Or should he just freeze her wound? That would stop the blood, but wouldn't it harm her further?

Before he could decide, Matsumoto pushed him aside, her hands already glowing green.

"I'm no Fourth Divisioner, but I can do this much," she said.

"Thank you," Toushirou replied sincerely.

"There's no need," she smiled. "It's my duty to keep you little kiddies alive. Failure would look bad on my record."

Hitsugaya watched as Hinamori's bleeding slowed and stopped shortly thereafter.

"That's as much as I can do," Matsumoto said. "We still have to get her to the Fourth."

"And what about me?" Renji asked. They turned towards the redhead. He wasn't waving around his shikai anymore, instead he was huddled on the ground, clutching his midsection. Hitsugaya remembered the older boy had been hit in his stomach by the Hollow's tongue. He could very well be suffering internal injuries and they all forgot he existed. He felt ashamed of himself.

"You too," he assured him. "Can you walk?"

"Not sure," Abarai replied. "Probably not."

"Then I'll carry you," Toushirou said.

"Can't Matsumoto do it?" Renji pouted.

"She's carrying Hinamori," Hitsugaya pointed out. "I don't get how you can be perverted in this situation."

"I'm not perverted. I'm worried you'll drag my feet on the ground, shrimp," Renji defended himself, but he shouldn't have used the last word if he wanted it to work. Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed.

"I'm carrying you and that's final."

They started the journey back to Seireitei. Renji predictably complained about his feet dragging on the ground, but Hitsugaya told him he could just drop him and let him walk on his own. That shut the redhead up, but he couldn't help the occasional moan of pain. They didn't get very far when they felt approaching reiatsu.

"Another Hollow!" Abarai shouted in alarm.

"Calm down," Toushirou scolded him. "Can't you tell they are shinigami?"

"Oh."

"Gin," Matsumoto whispered perking up.

"What?" Hitsugaya asked. He got his answer soon enough. Two figures appeared with a shunpo in front of them.

"Aizen-taichou!" Hinamori blushed, a veritable feat considering her state of blood loss. The bespectacled captain smiled warmly.

'_So that's him.' _Hitsugaya thought. _'Sure he's a captain, but what does Hinamori see in him? I've never seen such nerdy glasses before.'_

Aizen looked at the girl in Matsumoto's arms. "Ah... Hinamori-san, was it?"

"You remember my name!" she beamed.

"We caught your distress signal," Aizen spoke. Ichimaru lifted a finger on which sat a rather crumpled Hell Butterfly. "We were worried we were going to be late."

"Fortunately we took care of the Hollow on our own," Matsumoto said, "but we have wounded. We have to get them to the Fourth s soon as possible."

"We'll escort you," Aizen decided. "You all did well," he added patting Toushirou's head.

"I'd appreciate more if you got him off my back," Hitsugaya pointed at Renji. The older boy was heavy and he was tired. He had little patience for vague praise. He would have appreciated some help much more.

"Shirou-chan! That's no way to talk to a captain!" Momo chastised him. Aizen's presence must have somehow restored her strength. Or maybe it only motivated her to draw on her last reserves.

"Didn't they say they came to help us?" Toushirou retorted.

"Yes!" Renji joined. "He's dragging my feet on the ground!"

The captain looked first at him and then at Ichimaru. The silver-haired man tried to pretend he didn't understand, but ended up carrying the redhead anyway.

The journey to the Fourth Division Relief Station passed without incident. Aizen-taichou tried to converse with Hitsugaya, but the boy was too preoccupied with the condition of Hinamori, that he barely listened to what the captain said and answered only when he really had to. He knew he was being rude and it could get him into trouble, but he just couldn't help himself. Momo was more important to him than any trouble he might potentially get into.

Once they arrived at the Relief Station, they handed the now unconscious Hinamori and Abarai to the medics and were quickly dragged off to their own examinations. Captain Aizen and Lieutenant Ichimaru disappeared as soon as they arrived there, never saying where they were going.

Hitsugaya was surprised how big and busy the hospital was; the Academy infirmary couldn't compare, no matter how many students tended to get hurt every day. But he wasn't in the mood to ponder over it. He was too worried about Momo. And then a doctor approached him and began performing lots of tests and taking samples. Hitsugaya tried to follow the procedures and compare them with what he had learned about medical Kidou, but soon he was completely lost. This was on a completely different level. Then the medic finally said he was finished and left Hitsugaya alone in a room. Soon he came back with several vials of medicine and proceeded to apply them. Hitsugaya could deal with the ointment, but the eyedrops stung and the one he had to drink was the foulest-tasting substance he had ever ingested. If the saying that the strongest medicine tastes the worst was true, this one must have been the miraculous cure to everything. Hitsugaya could only hope that one dose would be enough. He didn't muse over it for long. He soon fell asleep.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He woke up to the sun shining on his face. He blinked several times and took in the blurred image of an unfamiliar room. He tried to remember where he was and how did he get there. And then it suddenly came to him.

"Hinamori!" he shot up on the bed.

"Not so loud," Abarai's voice sounded from close by. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

"It's almost noon," Hitsugaya pointed out after looking at the sun.

"So?" Renji shrugged. "In case you didn't notice, we're in a hospital. We don't have to get to classes on time, or at all, today."

"I know," Toushirou replied. "I'm just worried about Momo."

"She's fine," the older boy answered. "A nurse told me when she stopped by earlier. You were fast asleep."

"Really?" Hitsugaya doubted. "She was hurt pretty bad."

"But Unohana-taichou is pretty good," Abarai pointed out.

"Unohana-taichou?" Toushirou asked, wide-eyed. "Was it so bad?"

"I don't know," Renji shrugged. "So how do you feel?"

"Good," Hitsugaya answered. It was true. There wasn't even a trace of the stinging caused by the Hollow's tear-gas. "And you?"

"Good as well, mostly. Only my feet still hurt from your dragging them on the ground."

"Hey!" Toushirou protested.

"Don't worry," the redhead smirked, "I'll be alright soon. And then I can finally kick your ass!"

"What makes you think you can do it?" Hitsugaya asked.

"This." Abarai picked up his zanpakutou and showed it to him. Toushirou noticed that it didn't look like a standard asauchi anymore. Then he remembered seeing Renji wave around his shikai the day before.

"Congratulations," he said. "So what can it do besides randomly trying to decapitate passersby?"

"I'll show you during our next duel," the redhead smirked. "You're going down before the power of Zabimaru."

"In your dreams," Hitsugaya smirked back.

"I see you're both up and in good mood," Matsumoto's voice sounded from the door.

"Matsumoto-san!" Renji exclaimed with a blush. It wasn't surprising. The woman's shihakusho somehow looked even more revealing today. Toushirou had to wonder what was holding it up. "Are you alright?"

"Of course," she replied. "I wasn't hurt and that gas didn't have any lasting effects either. I'm free to go now."

"Good for you," the redhead said. "We seem to be stuck here for the time being."

"You poor dears," she said. "I hate being stuck here too. Why don't you sneak out? That's what I do when I'm here."

"Sneak out?" Hitsugaya blinked. It was something he didn't even think about.

"Why not?" she shrugged. "Or are you feeling so bad?"

"No," Renji said.

"There will be no sneaking out," an authoritative voice spoke from behind Matsumoto. Then a figure stepped forward and revealed itself to be a medic Hitsugaya hadn't seen before. It was a girl taller than Renji with an unruly mop of gray hair. "I'll decide whether they are ready to leave." She stepped to the room and examined the two patients. Matsumoto waited patiently at the door.

"Everything seems to be in order," the doctor spoke. "You two are free to go. But you should take it easy for the next couple of days. And if you feel any ill effects, please come back."

"Thank you," Hitsugaya said. Abarai was already searching for his clothes.

"We should celebrate," Matsumoto said.

"What?" Toushirou blinked.

"We won our first battle together. That's a good reason to celebrate," the woman stated.

"It is," Hitsugaya agreed.

"Don't you dare to take them drinking," the medic scowled. "They're too young for it."

"Hey!" Renji protested. "I'm old enough!"

"Don't be so stern, Isane," Rangiku said.

"I don't want to see you corrupting our youth," the grey-haired girl replied.

"You know me. Would I ever do such a thing?" Matsumoto made puppy dog eyes on her.

"I know you," Isane replied coolly. "And don't forget, you all are supposed to take it easy too."

"Then what about a nice relaxing trip to the baths? Is that easy enough?" Rangiku suggested.

"That sounds good," the doctor agreed.

"What about Hinamori?" Hitsugaya asked.

"She's free to go as well," Isane answered.

"Really?" he questioned. "She was hurt badly."

"It wasn't as bad as it looked. And here are the best medics in Soul Society," she answered proudly.

"Then let's pick her up and let's go!" Toushirou exclaimed.

"Hey! Shouldn't you get dressed first?" Matsumoto reminded him.

"Oh, thanks."

.*****************************************************************************************.

They followed Matsumoto's lead. Renji spent the time showing off his new zanpakutou to Hinamori. The girl sighed and said that she was now feeling left behind, being the only one of them without a shikai yet. Abarai reminded her that Kira didn't have one either and was even worse than her in trying to communicate with his. That placated her, but she still seemed a bit down.

Matsumoto navigated confidently through the maze of streets called Seireitei and soon she dragged them in front of a building with a plate proudly proclaiming this was the _**Shinigami Health Land**_. She strode to the counter and asked for four tickets. The lady at the counter handed them out and informed them that children had to be supervised while bathing, looking pointedly at Hitsugaya. The white-haired boy scowled. He was a student of the Shun'o Reijutsu Academy, soon to graduate and become a full-fledged shinigami. Couldn't she see his uniform? Apparently not. And because Renji was declared an untrustworthy guardian, he ended up being dragged to the women and children section of the bathhouse. Once there he had to endure the humiliation of having to undress in front of so many ladies. Some of them even came over and called him an adorable little child and congratulated Matsumoto on having such a well-behaved son. It caused Toushirou to blush deep red and Matsumoto to snap at them for thinking she was old enough to be his mother. Hinamori nearly doubled over giggling. But finally the initial ordeal was over and they could settle in the water.

Hitsugaya had to admit that he liked it here. He wasn't a welcome guest to the onsen in Junrin'an, so this experience had the feeling of novelty to him. He wasn't usually fond of hot water, but now it felt soothing. They sat there, soaking quietly, enjoying the rare moment of peace. Hinamori was the first one to break the silence.

"Aizen-taichou smiled at me," she said dreamily.

"Aizen-taichou," Hitsugaya grumbled. "Aizen-taichou, Aizen-taichou. Is he all you think about?" He had a reason for his irritation. Ever since their conversation in the study room Hinamori had been trying to convince to join the Fifth Division upon graduating, which he kept refusing stubbornly.

"Of course not," Momo answered. "I have the graduation to worry about too."

"And beside that?"

"What do you have against Aizen-taichou?" she sighed in exasperation. "And how can you not like him after he patted your head?"

"What?" he blinked. "Is that a reason to fall head over heels for somebody?"

"He congratulated you on your good work, that's a huge honor coming from a captain," Momo pointed out.

"He didn't even see me do anything," Hitsugaya pointed out. "His words mean nothing."

"Toushirou!" Hinamori scolded him. "How can you say such thing? He helped us."

"Did he?" Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "He came late."

"He helped to get us to the Fourth," Momo reminded him.

"No, he didn't," Hitsugaya corrected her. "He didn't even want to help carrying Abarai. He must have been worried about soiling his fancy haori. His lieutenant ended up helping us."

"Of course the captain won't be carrying the wounded," Hinamori stated.

"Yeah. He's to high and mighty for that," Toushirou muttered sarcastically.

"Children," Matsumoto interrupted, "we came here to relax, not to argue."

"He started," Momo said.

"No, you did," Hitsugaya argued.

"You're being stupid," the girl scowled.

"Whatever," he shrugged. "I'm still not joining the Fifth and that's final."

"Tell him something," Momo turned to Matsumoto.

"Well," the woman said, "Gin says that Aizen is a good captain." Hitsugaya remembered the creepy-looking fukutaichou and shuddered.

"I don't know whether that's a good recommendation," he commented.

"Wouldn't you like to join the Third instead?" Matsumoto suggested. "You could be with me."

"Isn't the Third currently captainless?" he inquired.

"Yes," she confirmed, "but does it really matter? Who knows, maybe if you worked hard you can make it to our captain."

"Shirou-taichou?" Hinamori giggled. "That's rich."

"I'll think about it," he replied politely.

"That's a good boy," Matsumoto smiled, hugging him to her breasts. He wanted to protest, but it proved to be a nearly-fatal mistake. Just as he was taking a breath to tell her off, she pushed his head under the surface and he ended up inhaling the water. He wanted to cough, but he couldn't underwater. He wanted to get out, but between her boobs of doom and her strong arms he was completely trapped. He struggled to get free, but she ignored his hands pushing at her torso. He heard her speaking, but he couldn't understand her words. He wanted to breathe, but couldn't. He wanted to scream, but couldn't either. His lungs were burning with the need for air. _'I'm going to drown here,' _was the most prominent thought on his mind. Panic settled in. He didn't realize it, but he released his reiatsu. He tried one last push in a desperate attempt to free himself. He failed. _'Oh no' _was the only thought he had time to think before he fainted.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Didn't the water get cold suddenly?" Matsumoto wondered aloud.

"It did," Hinamori agreed. There were even several small pieces of ice floating in it.

"I wonder what the problem is," the woman mused. Then her eyes fell on the limp boy in her arms. She realized she was still holding him in her deathgrip. She released him immediately. He didn't react.

"Shirou-chan?" Momo asked worriedly. No response. Matsumoto lifted his head from the water. His eyes were closed and he wasn't breathing.

"He drowned!" Hinamori wailed, her eyes filling with tears.

"No, his heart's still beating," Rangiku corrected after checking his pulse. She then smacked him on his back. Water came out of his mouth and he coughed, but he still didn't wake up. "We have to get him to the Fourth, and quick," she stated picking him into her arms. Then she disappeared in a shunpo, leaving the distraught Hinamori alone.

.*****************************************************************************************.

When he came to, he was at the Fourth Division again. The grey-haired doctor from the morning was just checking his vitals.

"It's going to be alright," she said. He wanted to thank her, but talking hurt. Breathing hurt too. He ended up coughing instead, and that hurt even worse. "I told you to take it easy," she spoke.

"Not _–cough- _my fault. _–cough, cough- _Crazy lady _–cough- _tried to drown me."

"Really?" Isane raised an eyebrow. "That's not what she said." Toushirou only grimaced. He didn't feel like answering her. But he knew one thing for sure: There was no way in hell he was joining the Third Division. The crazy lady would end up killing him with her boobs if he did. He resolved to spend his shinigami career as far away from her as possible.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The next sparring match between Abarai and Hitsugaya took place nearly two weeks later. By that time, all the traces of their injuries had disappeared and the redhead felt he had sufficient grasp on his shikai now. They met up in a remote corner of the training grounds.

"Prepare to go down," Renji grinned.

"In your dreams," Toushirou replied sliding into the 'on guard' stance. The redhead did the same, only he laid his left palm on the base of his blade. Hitsugaya wondered what was he trying to do. He got his answer a moment later. The older student slid his palm along the blade shouting:

"Howl, Zabimaru!" There was a spike of reiatsu and the blade lengthened and widened. Spikes appeared on one side.

'_So that's what it looks like,' _Hitsugaya mused. He didn't have much time to observe it the first time he saw it, not to mention that his eyes were hurting and full of tears. Now seeing it close up he had to admit that the shikai looked dangerous. Now if only he knew what it could do.

Renji didn't keep him waiting. He swung his weapon and the blade extended. _'No,' _Hitsugaya realized, _'that's not how it works. The blade separates into segments connected by something elastic.' _In the next moment the weapon nearly reached him and he was forced to block. He batted away one segment, but the whip-like blade changed its direction and the end was still heading for his head. He had to use shunpo to avoid it.

He took advantage of the fact that his opponent momentarily lost sight of him and attacked. He took a swing at Renji's unprotected back, but the older student noticed his approach. Once again Hitsugaya found himself ducking the extending blade, and this time it cost him a shallow gash on his shoulder. Abarai noticed it and grinned.

"First blood is mine!" His excitement was understandable. It had been a very long time since he had accomplished this.

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. It wasn't that he didn't wish Renji the success, but he didn't like losing. During his brief time at the Academy, he got accustomed to being the best and he realized that he liked it. He wanted to win this match.

He attacked again, to see what Zabimaru could do. It cost him a couple more gashes, but he gained insight into how far could the blade extend, how fast could it move, how did it bend and that Renji didn't have as good control over it as he was trying to pretend. It was hardly surprising, considering it's been barely two weeks since he had acquired his shikai. Hitsugaya smiled. A plan had already formed in his head how to exploit this weakness.

He waited for Renji's next attack. Just as expected, the redhead swung his whip-blade into a wide arc, extended to the max, trying to wrap him in the sharp pieces. Hitsugaya blocked one in the middle and watched as the end changed its direction, trying to ensnare him. When he was nearly trapped, he jumped. He used one foot to propel himself off the blade of Zabimaru. Forcing it to the ground. Just as expected, the spikes burrowed into the uneven ground. The young prodigy hoped they'd get stuck in some root, but his plan wasn't based on that. He shunpoed towards Renji.

The redhead's eyes widened in surprise. He tried to recall his blade, but it was significantly slowed down by the soil and grass. He saw he won't be able to make it. He did the only thing he could think of in this situation. He dodged. But he refused to let go of the hilt, and therefore he couldn't evade as fast as usual. The blade of Hyourinmaru cut into his upper right arm. He hissed in pain. This was bad. He was naturally right-handed and now that arm was hindered.

He had little time to curse his luck. Hitsugaya was attacking again. He blocked with Zabimaru. The blade was free again, but there were bits of grass and dirt on it. It irked Renji. He firmly resolved to pay the little shrimp for soiling his blade like that. But that was easier said than done. Hitsugaya was showing how did he earn his class standings. And though Renji's wound turned out to be less of a problem than he thought, he couldn't land a decisive hit on the younger boy.

But the same could be said for Hitsugaya. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do anything more than scratch his opponent. And much to his dismay, he was receiving more hits than he was inflicting. He realized that if he didn't do something soon, he was going to lose the fight. Fortunately for him he still had an ace in his sleeve.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru," he said. He didn't form an ice dragon; that would have been an overkill. He needed only the chain-and-sickle protrusion. The next time Abarai attacked him, he threw the sickle and the chain wrapped itself around Zabimaru. Renji tried to retract his blade, but couldn't. The chain wrapped between the spikes and was firmly holding them in place. He pulled on the hilt, trying to make Hitsugaya let go of the chain, but the white-haired boy held it tightly. The redhead decided to change tactics and attack head-on instead. And that was exactly what Hitsugaya had been waiting for. There was a brief moment before pulling and attacking, where the redhead adjusted his grip. Toushirou pinned it down exactly and pulled. Renji suddenly felt the hilt slipping from his fingers. He tried to reclaim it, but Hitsugaya swung the chain and Zabimaru was soon outside his reach. He then flashed forward and placed his sword at Abarai's neck.

"It looks like I win again," he smirked. Renji looked like he just bit a lemon.

"That was unfair," he complained.

"No, it wasn't," Hitsugaya disagreed. "You used your shikai, so I could too. And I didn't even use its full ability."

"Why am I still so weak," Renji muttered dejectedly.

"You aren't," Toushirou replied.

"It doesn't feel that way."

"You achieved shikai before graduating," the boy pointed out. "Few shinigami can claim the same. And your Zabimaru is a deadly weapon; you just have to learn to wield it properly. And look out for anybody with a chain."

"You really think so?" Abarai asked hopefully.

"Yes," Toushirou smiled. "You are good and you are improving. Who knows, maybe you'd be able to match captain Kuchiki once. I bet he wasn't this good while he was at the Academy."

"You're right," Renji grinned. "I'll train and I will defeat him, even if it should take a hundred or a thousand years."

"Now that's the spirit," Hitsugaya smiled. "And now get up; we should get you into the infirmary before you bleed out from this wound."

"The same goes for you."

.*****************************************************************************************.

The final exams came soon after that. It was both a relief, that the anticipation was finally over, and a dreaded occasion, because everybody felt like they should have studied and trained harder and longer. And because they were the advanced class, their exams were harder than those administered to the other students. It had a good reason: For them, the final Academy tests doubled as Gotei 13 entrance tests, because they were all expected to make it and the authorities saw no reason to waste time and resources by administering two separate exams. The students from the regular classes often had to train for several extra years before they reached the Gotei 13 standard, many of them never joining the organization at all, opting instead to become the bodyguards of noble families or just anybody wealthy. The advanced class was expected to make it into the Gotei 13, Onmitsukidou or Kidou Corps straight away, sometimes even being instated as officers on their first day.

The entire class had to go through several torturous days of complex written tests, oral examinations, Kidou practices, sparring matches with the examiners and a whole lot of other tests most of them suspected secretly doubled as tests for the seated positions.

After what felt like an eternity to the participants, the tests were finally over. Than a day followed while the results were evaluated. The wait was torture for those who weren't sure they'd pass. Hitsugaya was worried as well. It wasn't about whether he passed or not, he was fairly certain he did, it was about whether his results were good enough. He knew that he would have it harder than most of his classmates. Even though he was recognized as a prodigy now, too many people still thought that he shouldn't be in the Gotei 13. Some of them had an attitude that could be summed up with 'sure, kid, we know you are good, but from now on its going to be REALLY dangerous, so you'd better run back home and don't come back until you grow up, or something nasty is going to happen to you.' And then there were the people that couldn't stomach being bested by a child and those who were plainly jealous of him. They were all obstacles he'd have to overcome, if he wanted to make a career as a shinigami.

He laughed at the irony. Was it really less than a year ago when he wanted nothing to do with the residents of Seireitei? And how much time passed since he wanted to refuse an offer to move up a year because he felt he'd need as much extra training as possible before going into the field? And what was he doing now, struggling to get as far as he could? What had happened to his plan to just learn reiatsu control and return back to Granny? He wasn't certain when did it happen, but somewhere along the way his objective changed. Maybe it was when he had first unleashed Hyourinmaru. Once he had tasted the exhilarating feeling of power flowing through his veins, once he felt the cold wind in his hair, he wanted to feel it again. He wanted to experience another rush of battle. It made him feel alive in a way few things could ever do. He realized that there was no going back for him. He could only march forward, wherever his path was going to lead.

And then the results were finally posted. The whole class gathered around the board, everybody struggling to get close enough to be able to read it.

"I'm second place," Kira said in wonder.

"That's just because you're good in Kidou," Abarai commented. "Look at my zanjutsu mark. It's way above yours."

"And your Kidou is just above fail," the blond boy reminded him. The redhead made a sour face.

"And yet I am just behind you," Renji pointed out.

"You're both good," Hinamori tried to dissolve the brewing argument.

"So how did you do?" Hitsugaya asked. Hinamori squealed.

"Shirou-chan! Don't sneak on me like that!"

"Don't call me Shirou-chan," Hitsugaya scowled. "And I didn't sneak up on you, you weren't paying attention. So how did you do?"

"I am fourth," she answered.

"That's very good," he congratulated her.

"And what about you?" she inquired.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I couldn't get through the crowd."

"I'll help you," she offered.

"Don't bother," he waved his hand, "I'll just wait until they go away."

"Aren't you curious?" she questioned.

"I can wait," he shrugged. It didn't sound as disinterested as he wanted to.

"Nonsense," Momo decided. "Let's go."

As a group, they managed to force their way through the crowd.

"So where is it?" Renji asked. Hitsugaya just stared at the board that was too high above his head to read.

"Here," Kira pointed. "Oh." His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"What is it?" Toushirou asked.

"You're first," Izuru announced.

"No way," Renji said.

"Really?" Hitsugaya asked standing on his toes. He still couldn't see the results.

"That's what it says here," Momo confirmed.

"No way the shrimp can be first," Renji shook his head in disbelief. Hitsugaya had a hard time believing it too. Though he knew he was good, he had thought there would be someone better. It hadn't been that long since he caught up with the curriculum of the sixth year. It made him wonder whether he was really such a big genius or whether everybody else was so bad.

"He can get in any division he wants with these results," Kira commented.

"You can too," Hitsugaya answered.

"That's good. Now I'm sure I'll get into the Fifth," Hinamori smiled dreamily.

"Please don't start again," Toushirou rolled his eyes.

"And where do you want to go?" Kira asked.

"I don't know yet," Hitsugaya shrugged. "I'll send multiple applications and I'll see who would accept me."

"With those scores?" Izuru questioned. "They're going to fight over you."

"Result's aren't everything," the white-haired boy pointed out.

"That's right," Abarai agreed. "If I were a captain, I wouldn't want a kid in my division."

"Don't call me a kid," Hitsugaya growled.

"That's right, he's a shinigami now," Hinamori agreed. Then she turned to Toushirou. "And you shouldn't be so childish about it. Do you have to get angry every time somebody calls you a kid?"

"It's not somebody calling me a kid, it's everybody calling me a kid all the time," he answered. It wasn't that he found the word offensive, it was that he got tired of hearing it constantly.

"Well," Kira interrupted them, "I'll just go and start writing my application."

"That's right, I should too," Hitsugaya said.

"Let's go, Shirou-chan," Hinamori smiled, "We can write our application to the Fifth together." She grabbed his wrist and tried to drag him off. He broke out of her grip.

"I'm not joining the Fifth," he scowled.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because I'm not an Aizen-fangirl," he replied.

"But then we could be together," Momo pointed out.

"And watch you swoon over him? No, no, and in case you didn't get it, no."

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" she complained.

"Why do you?"

"Please don't start arguing about Aizen-taichou again," Renji interrupted her.

"She started it."

"He started it," Toushirou and Momo replied in unison.

"Kids the both of them," Abarai shook his head. "Just don't kill each other. I'm off to write my application."

"I'm too," Hitsugaya said and weaved his way through the crowd before Hinamori could stop him.

After that, only the Graduation ceremony remained before their education officially ended. It was a grand occasion. All the students from all the graduating classes were there, dressed for the first time in the black shihakusho. They had received them earlier that day, to mark that they were officially full-fledged shinigami now. Even though the replies to their applications didn't come yet, even though many of them won't be accepted, everybody got them to mark the end of their student years.

Everybody stood in lines and rows in the Great hall, designed specially for such occasions. It was the first time Hitsugaya had seen it like that. The others were here for the regular beginning and end-of-schoolyear ceremonies, but he hadn't been in the Academy long enough. It was just too bad that he didn't get a place in the first row, so he couldn't see anything over his classmates. Which was really a pity. All the teachers lined up there in their best clothes and the founder of the Academy, Yamamoto-Genryuusai himself, came to give a speech personally. Hitsugaya considered it a great honor, but after fifteen minutes he was hard-pressed not to yawn. He was glad this was probably the last time he had to endure this.

After the ceremony ended with a feast, there was nothing left to do but wait for the Gotei 13's response to the applications.

.*****************************************************************************************.

And that's teh end of chapter 4.

Next time: The Gotei 13. Which division is Hitsugaya going to join?


	5. Healing touch

**A.N.:** So after all of your waiting, here finally comes the next chapter. The suspense over what division was Hitsugaya accepted to is finally over. And there is also a little illustration on my DA profile, depicting a scene from the middle of the chapter. So read, enjoy and review.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach.

**On the Frozen Plain**** – A Healing Touch**

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya couldn't understand how did this happen. After he had passed the final exams at the Academy, he sent his application to every division he considered eligible.

The First didn't take rookies straight out of the Academy. It was a place for the experienced veterans of Gotei 13, so he had no business applying. Yamamoto couldn't stand anybody under 500.

The Second was connected with the Stealth Force. And Toushirou wasn't particularly stealthy. Even though he could hide his reiatsu now, he could do it only for limited time. And his zanpakutou was too long and his shikai too fancy. And Hakuda also wasn't his strongest point, though he wasn't exactly bad at it. Well, at least they had a valid reason for refusing him.

The Third was where Matsumoto was. And he was too scared of the woman and her breast attacks to consider sending an application there.

The Fourth was known as the division that took in anybody. For that it was also known as the losers' division. From what he gathered, other divisions tended to look down on them, even though they often needed their medical specialists. And Hitsugaya felt he wasn't cut out to be a doctor. But remembering Hinamori bleeding on the ground and him being unable to do anything to help, he decided to send his application anyway.

The Fifth was where Aizen was and Hitsugaya still didn't like the man. And he wouldn't have been able to deal with Hinamori's infatuation on a daily basis, so he didn't bother sending an application there.

The Sixth was a distinguished division, lead by nobility since its foundation. They looked at Hitsugaya's Academy records and were impressed until they saw his disciplinary record. Then they told him that the Sixth was no place for unruly brats (in much more flowery words).

The Seventh told him politely that he was too young to enter the Gotei 13; that he should wait until he grew up before joining. That irked him. Didn't his accomplishment mean anything? Then he decided that the Seventh was prejudiced and he didn't want to be in such a division anyway.

The Eighth didn't admit anyone that couldn't have a drinking contest with the captain or wasn't a pretty girl and he was too young to drink and was a boy. That was explicitly stated on the paper. Hitsugaya had to reread it three times before he decided to believe his eyes. He wondered what kind of division it was when drinking and womanizing were not only tolerated, but even encouraged.

The Ninth replied that letting children into a military organization is against Justice, followed by a three-pages long tirade about the Path of Justice. It convinced Toushirou that captain Tousen was crazy and he was glad that he didn't end up in that division.

The Tenth was currently captainless and the lieutenant wrote that he had enough on his plate without having to babysit little children. Jerk.

The Eleventh was a place for manly man. A child wouldn't survive a day there, unless they were Yachiru, or so Captain Zaraki thought. So this application was turned down as well. Hitsugaya was secretly glad. He didn't really want to end up in the Eleventh anyway. They were known for having the shortest life expectancy in the whole Gotei 13. Only the Punishment Corps of the Onmitsukidou could compete with them in this regard.

He didn't even think about applying for the Twelfth. He had heard some very disturbing rumors about it. He had no desire to find out whether it was true that their rookies often ended up as test subjects for Kurotsuchi's experiments. And he wanted to be a warrior, not a scientist cooped in some dank lab.

The Thirteenth never replied to his application. Unbeknownst to him, it was used as a makeshift handkerchief when Captain Ukitake got one of his blood-coughing fits, courtesy of the overly-helpful Fifth Seat Kotetsu, and the sickly captain never got to read it. It was a shame. He would have loved Hitsugaya.

Applying for the Onmitsukidou was out of the question thanks to his trouble with stealth and the Kidou Corps didn't seem alluring to him. He wanted to spend his career wielding Hyourinmaru, not chanting some spells to keep the Senkaimon working.

So what did happen? It wasn't that hard to guess. Hitsugaya ended up as a member of the Fourth. He couldn't believe it had happened. When Renji found out about it, he doubled over laughing. It made the new tattoos on his face twist in a funny manner. The redhead claimed he had them made to look more macho, as a sign of being a full-fledged shinigami now, but Hitsugaya suspected he had them made when he got drunk at the party to celebrate their graduation and was looking for any excuse to justify them.

"That finally proves I'm better than you!" Abarai claimed. He, Kira and Hinamori were all admitted into the Fifth and especially Momo was ecstatic about it.

"That proves nothing," Hitsugaya scowled. "If you really want to see who is better, draw your sword." His hand was already gripping the hilt of Hyourinmaru.

"Stop it!" Hinamori chastised them. "Do you want to get in trouble for fighting so much?" Both boys backed of before her wrath. "I think it's good you got into the Fourth, Shirou-chan," she stated.

"Don't call me Shirou-chan," he grumbled. "And I don't see just how it is good."

"You won't be it danger," she explained.

"So?" he shrugged. "I can take care of myself."

"This way I won't have to worry about you," she said patting his head.

"But I'll have to worry about you," he retorted. "You're weaker than me and you are going to be in danger."

"Than you should have applied for the Fifth," she stated.

"No," he crossed his arms.

"Now that's your pride talking," she admonished him. "Maybe you could still get into the Fifth if you applied. It is possible to transfer, you know? I'm sure captain Aizen..."

"No, and that's final. What part of 'no' you don't understand?" So maybe it was his pride speaking, but there was no way he was backing off. He wouldn't be able to stand the Fifth. And he wasn't even sure he would be accepted, after being so cold to Captain Aizen during their only meeting. But maybe he should try the Third? Matsumoto might be able to help him get in. But then he remembered all their encounters, especially the one at the onsen. No, he wasn't applying for the Third either. He had no desire to die by being smothered in her boobs. Now that he thought about it, the Fourth wasn't bad at all.

"Don't push him, Hinamori," Kira interjected. "If he doesn't want to, don't make him."

"But he's being childish," she complained.

"That's hardly surprising," Renji muttered. Hitsugaya glared at him.

"Seriously, Toushirou. What do you have against Aizen-taichou?" she questioned.

"Now who's being childish," he replied. "I have nothing against him. I just can't stand seeing you swooning over him twenty four seven."

"You're jealous," she accused him.

"No," he denied it. "And I believe we had this conversation before. Several times, in fact."

Hinamori sighed. "Do whatever you want, Shirou-chan. And don't come back to me crying when you burn yourself."

"Why would I?" he shrugged. "Didn't you say yourself that the Fourth is safe? And don't you come to me crying when your dream shatters. And it is going to happen, believe me."

"You're impossible," she sighed. "You just won't change your opinion no matter what."

"You're the one to talk," he retorted. "And if you excuse me, I have to pack my things. I believe you do to." Without waiting for her reply, he left.

He walked calmly into his room. Once he closed the door behind himself, he grabbed the nearest thing and hurled it at the wall.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya stood among the other recruits in the Fourth Division's gathering hall. After the initial disappointment, he had accepted his fate. After all, it wasn't like he was stuck in the Fourth Division forever. Shinigami could change their divisions if they wanted to and if their commanding officers agreed. He'd just train hard and once he'd get better, he'd apply for transfer. It would be approved, eventually. He just hoped he won't have to grow up first, otherwise he might get stuck here for a very, very long time.

He decided to think about something more positive instead. He was finally a full-fledged shinigami in the Gotei 13, albeit in the 'wimpy' Fourth Division. Oh, that didn't help. His new shihakusho looked good on him. It also made him look even smaller and younger than he really was. So that wasn't a particularly positive thought either. So what else should he try?

"E-excuse _–pant- _me, _-pant- _am I right _–pant- _in the _–pant- _gathering hall?" Hitsugaya looked over his shoulder. The speaker was a young boy, though still older than him. He had shoulder-length dark hair and big, droopy eyes. He also looked familiar.

"Yes, you are," Hitsugaya replied.

"My brother told _–pant- _me the directions, _-pant- _but I must have remembered them _–pant- _incorrectly."

"But you found it here in time and that's what matters," Hitsugaya replied. "Yamada Hanatarou, was it?"

"You know me?" the boy beamed. "Oh, you're the one who fell on me!" He said too loud and the other recruits began murmuring, pointing at them and some even snickering. Hitsugaya sighed. His first day in the Gotei 13 wasn't starting quite like he had imagined.

"Yes, that was me," he confirmed.

"So you fall down trees often?" a recruit standing close by asked. Hitsugaya didn't answer.

Shortly after the door opened and in walked Unohana-taichou followed by Yamada-fukutaichou. The murmur in the room quieted down.

"Good morning, everyone," she greeted. "Welcome to the Fourth Division of Gotei 13. As you might have already guessed, I'm Captain Unohana Retsu and this is Lieutenant Yamada Seinosuke. And now it's time for you to introduce yourselves." _'That's going to take a long time,' _Hitsugaya thought seeing the crowd gathered in the room. But Unohana did indeed walk around the room and exchanged a few words with everybody personally, while her adjutant showed her papers with the recruit's personal data. Hitsugaya wondered why she was doing it. It wasn't like she was learning anything new. She could decide their placement within the squad upon their exam scores or some further test.

When they reached Hanatarou, the older of the Yamada brothers remarked: "I see you made it in time." Toushirou couldn't help but think that he sounded mildly disappointed. They talked for about a minute, Unohana warmly welcoming the brother of her fukutaichou into the fold and wishing him good luck. And then it was finally Hitsugaya's turn.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou," he introduced himself.

"Pleased to meet you," she replied politely. "Didn't I meet you before?"

"Well..."

"Oh yes, it was under the tree in the Academy courtyard," she remembered. Some of the gathered people snickered. Hitsugaya blushed. "Don't feel so embarrassed about it," she tried to cheer him up, "it's a part of childhood."

"Here it is," Seinosuke showed her Hitsugaya's paper. She scanned it briefly.

"Those are the very best results," she said approvingly. "And you were in the advanced class and graduated early. Why did you choose the Fourth Division? I don't mean to pry, but it's quite unusual."

"I sent my application to most of the divisions," he replied.

"But why did you choose this one?" she inquired. "Most shinigami would opt for a more glamorous career."

"All the others rejected me," he answered with a sigh. No matter what he kept trying to convince himself, it stung.

"Why?" she wondered. "I don't see a single problem with your resume."

"They saw a problem with me. According to them, their divisions aren't for children."

"Well, it's their loss. I hope you'd like the Fourth." And with those words, she somehow managed to make Hitsugaya feel better again. _Their loss. _Yes, he was going to show them their folly. He was going to train hard and become the best. They will be all apologizing for not accepting him outright. With new determination, he waited for the meeting to end.

.*****************************************************************************************.

There was a short period of time during which the new recruits were settling into the division, their more experienced colleagues showing them their way around and their talents being tested to decide which position they should be assigned to. It took about a week. After it they were given a day off while their placement was decided. Hitsugaya used it to visit Granny. He felt he had been neglecting her lately and should make up for it.

He walked fast through the streets of Junrin'an. All around him, the people were stopping in their tracks, pointing at him and whispering something. What did they think about the freaky child being dressed in the shinigami uniform? Probably nothing pleasant. He wished he had taken the longer route to Granny's house instead of the one leading through the main street. But it was too late for it now. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing him run. His eyes set firmly forward, he strode at a steady pace.

Finally he reached his destination and walked through the door. He had to restrain himself from sighing in relief. Granny wouldn't be happy to see him like that.

"Hello, Toushirou," Granny's voice greeted him from the darkness of the house.

"Hello, Granny," he smiled back.

"You don't have to force yourself, you know."

"What?" he blinked.

"You don't have to smile if you don't feel like it," she clarified. "Now come in, have some tea and tell me what has you feeling so down."

"How do you..."

"Know something bothers you? That's what grannys are for."

A little later they were sitting at the small table in the dining room, sipping the steaming liquid from their cups.

"So will you tell me now what's wrong?" Granny asked when Toushirou remained silent for too long. "I see you made it to the Gotei 13."

"I did."

"What is it like?"

"Fine, I guess."

Granny raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you have to say? I know you're not much for talking, but this it too quiet even for you." Toushirou sighed. "So you don't want to tell me what's wrong?" Granny continued. "Would you at least tell me what Division are you in? And what about Momo? And her friends?"

"Didn't she come here?" Hitsugaya was surprised.

"No," Granny shook her head ruefully. "I haven't seen her in months. But it doesn't really matter. She found her own place to belong. There is no reason for her to be too attached here."

"Still, she should have come," Toushirou frowned. "But I guess she's too enamored with Aizen to remember you."

"She certainly spent a lot of time talking about him," Granny recalled fondly. Toushirou didn't see what was so good about it.

"She got into his division, the Fifth. And so did Abarai and Kira."

"And you? Didn't you want to be with her?" Granny inquired.

"And watch her fawn over the oh-so-perfect Aizen-taichou all the time? No."

"So what division are you in?"

"The Fourth," he admitted with embarrassment.

"That's close enough to the Fifth, isn't it?" It occurred to Toushirou, that maybe Granny didn't know the specializations of the divisions. But the reputation of the Fourth should be well-known, shouldn't it?

"It's not far, but I didn't get to see her since graduation, if that's what are you asking."

"So what are your duties?"

"At the moment, we're being evaluated. We will be informed tomorrow what our new duties are going to be."

"Will you be going to fight Hollows?"

"No."

"Why do you sound so sad about it? You should be glad that you don't have to risk your life." Toushirou grimaced.

"I know, but..."

"But?" Granny gently prompted, when he wasn't finishing the sentence.

"But..." And then Hitsugaya felt something inside give way. For a whole week, he was suppressing his feelings of injustice for being assigned to the "wimpy" division. But now a dam broke and everything spilled out. He began ranting about how it was unfair that he ended up in the weakest of all divisions when he had the best scores from the whole year. How much did it hurt when the other divisions refused his application just because he was young. How everybody was laughing at his misfortune. How he deserved better. A small part of his mind pointed out that he sounded like a spoiled, whiny brat, but he ignored it. He felt like screaming and smashing things, but he restrained himself to a simple rant.

He stopped when he felt out of breath. Granny was sitting opposite him, watching him with an earnest expression. In fact, she had been doing so throughout his tantrum.

"Do you feel better now?"

That was a tricky question. On one hand he got out the things that were bothering him, on the other he had just acted like an idiot and he felt ashamed for it. He didn't know what to say.

"You don't have to feel embarrassed," the old woman said. "If you couldn't rant in front of your Granny, who else could you rant in front of?" It made him feel a bit better. He gave her a small smile.

"Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome, Toushirou," Granny smiled back. "Feel free to come whenever you feel like ranting about something." He immediately felt better. He still had a home.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Unohana-taichou decided that with his talent, he should study to become a healer. She told him that with his power he could have been assigned a seated position straight out of the Academy, but thanks to his inexperience with healing he couldn't be assigned to a medical relief squad without learning a lot first. And he didn't want to end up the commander of a janitorial squad, did he? Because that would have been a terrible waste of his talent.

He was at first glad that he didn't end up assigned to cleaning or nursing duty, but after he had spent several hours watching Kotetsu-sanseki pull splinters from somebody's guts, he was forced to reconsider his initial assessment. Sweeping floors would be welcomed compared to this. Even cleaning the bedpans didn't sound so gross.

Once again, he realized that he really wasn't meant to be a doctor. He briefly considered just performing bad, but crossed out the thought immediately. The sight of wounded Momo flashed in his mind. He didn't want to feel so powerless ever again. He was going to learn all he could, so he wouldn't have to just watch helplessly as a comrade lay dying. But what if he got so good at it that Unohana would want to keep him? He didn't want to be stuck here forever. But then, which division would want somebody who had performed badly in the Fourth?

He decided that he was going to study medicine diligently, but not at the expense of his training with Hyourinmaru. He considered his stay at the Fourth to be a temporary one, so he saw no need to fully embrace their ways.

He spent every free moment on the training grounds, practicing his kata, learning to better wield his shikai or improving his shunpo. He would have liked to have a sparring-partner, but there wasn't anyone interested in the Fourth. Either they were really too weak, or they seemed content with their fate and didn't seek to improve their fighting skills in an attempt to earn a transfer. Beside that, he had to devote his time to studies of anatomy and healing kidou. His theoretical studies progressed fast, he had been always good at learning and this wasn't much different form the Academy.

The problem came when he was supposed to apply his knowledge in practice. Real wounds looked nothing like the illustrations in the textbooks. The first time he had to cure a patient himself, he completely misjudged which one of his wound was severe, resulting in serious complications for the man. Fortunately there was an experienced healer nearby who saved the situation.

It was a sobering realization for him. It looked like he had found one thing he wasn't a genius at. Every time he had to heal someone, he was scared of messing up and either crippling or even killing the patient. Fortunately most of the injured shinigami he had to treat didn't have a well-concealed potentially-lethal injury, so no real damage happened, but the fear was still there.

And there were other things that were bad in the life of the Fourth Division. The most notable of them was the Eleventh. They always used to brag about their strength, but it got worse since captain Zaraki came to power there recently. He quickly instilled his philosophy of strength in his subordinates and now they felt entitled to beat up anybody who was weaker than them. The Fourth was their most favorite target. And the fact that the other divisions had a low opinion of the Fourth just meant they got no sympathy.

The fact that the Fourth was regularly being bullied didn't mean they weren't prone to becoming bullies themselves. Many of the members were frustrated with their lives and seeing that it wasn't going to get any better, they sought to inflict their misery on others. Hitsugaya had no problem persuading most of them to leave him alone, but those who happened to be his superiors weren't as easy to get rid of. He was pretty certain that he could defeat most of them, but doing so would get him into a lot of trouble for insubordination.

And then there was Yamada-fukutaichou. He was on a completely different level than all the others. He even made Hitsugaya remember Yoshitsuna as good old times. The man excelled at finding the ways to make somebody's life hell without actually breaking any rule. Everybody in the Fourth feared him and he knew it and relished in it. Unohana-taichou was able to somewhat keep him in line, but the moment she was out of sight, he was back to his old tricks. Every time Unohana did something to improve the moral in her division, he did something to undermine her efforts. But he was really an excellent healer, so she was forced to keep him around, because excellent healers were something there couldn't be too much of. And considering how often the members of Gotei 13 managed to get themselves seriously hurt, the supply wasn't able to cover the demand.

One of Seinosuke's accomplishments was putting Hitsugaya in the same room with Hanatarou. He had hoped that thanks to the tree-falling incident, there would be tension between the two of them, but he had miscalculated on this one. The boys were going along well, mainly because both of them were naturally quiet, so they couldn't annoy each other much.

For the next three months, life was a boring routine.

.*****************************************************************************************.

One day, Hitsugaya received a Hell Butterfly summoning him to Unohana's office. He was worried what it could be about. He didn't remember messing anything up too badly recently. He didn't kill or cripple any patient thanks to a wrong diagnosis. And they had managed to get the soot from the ceiling eventually, so it couldn't have been about that kitchen shift either. And Kyouraku-taichou probably didn't even notice that his captain's haori was dyed slightly pink. That way it went well with his flowery one. There was no reason to be afraid. But Captain Unohana was just so scary, even if he didn't know why. Therefore he could feel his heart in his throat when he stepped over the threshold of her office.

"Ah, Hitsugaya-kun, it's good you came on such short notice," the captain spoke softly. Hitsugaya didn't know what to answer so he stayed silent. "You must be wondering why I have summoned you," Unohana continued. Toushirou nodded. "Don't worry, you aren't in trouble." The white-haired boy wondered how did she read him so easily. He concluded it must be experience. His relief must have been apparent also, because Unohana smiled reassuringly. "In fact, you have been doing well lately."

"Thank you," Hitsugaya said, taken aback. Though Unohana-taichou was known to praise her underlings regularly, it was still strange to receive her praise himself. Especially when he didn't feel very deserving of it.

"That's why I decided to promote you."

"P-promote me?" The boy was shocked.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Your performance with healing techniques has improved a great deal. I decided to place you at the Eighteenth Seat."

"Thank you," Toushirou replied, still quite not believing his ears.

"And because the commander of our Fourteenth Medical Relief Unit retired recently, you will be taking his place."

"Me, commander of a unit?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Don't worry, you will do well."

"If you say so," Hitsugaya replied unconvinced.

"I know you will. In fact, I think you will be a great unit commander," she smiled reassuringly.

"Thank you, madam." Toushirou bowed. At that moment, he knew that he was going to be a great unit commander. He'd better be, because there was no way he would dare to disappoint Unohana. Now if he only knew how to be a good leader.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya's command of the 14th Medical Relief Unit started very much how he expected it to. There was a bunch of older shinigami who were utterly unimpressed with being ordered around by a child younger that their own, as one of them said aloud. It looked like earning their respect was going to be even harder than he imagined, but fortunately there was also a good point. And that was Yamada Hanatarou, his roommate, who was also a part of this unit. The older boy had always accepted Hitsugaya as his superior is both skills and power and had no trouble obeying his orders. Hitsugaya was very grateful for it. Though Hanatarou was just an unseated rookie, the fact that there was one person who recognized his authority without questioning it made it easier for others to do the same.

But it wasn't a quick process. They had to go on several missions where Hitsugaya had to demonstrate his skills in both medicine and leadership and his ability to keep a level head under duress, before they got convinced he knew what he was doing. Hitsugaya thought that it might have been easier if he had more confidence in his own abilities. Every day he was grateful for not making a major blunder, though he knew it was only a matter of time. It finally happened two months after his promotion.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The order came just before their shift was supposed to end and dinner was supposed to begin. Hitsugaya sighed. Why couldn't the people wait for four minutes before getting themselves injured? Then it would have been somebody else's problem. But no, they had to do it now. So he called at his three subordinates and the 14th Medical Relief Unit headed out.

Their destination was in the 12th district of East Rukongai. It sounded far enough, but from what Hitsugaya gathered, it was unusual for a Hollow to get that close to Seireitei, especially one powerful enough to give trouble to a whole patrol unit. But it was still too far for his subordinates, especially considering that the only one who knew shunpo was pretty bad at it. He ended up carrying the weakest and slowest member, Hanatarou, on his back. He wondered whether any of the patrol would be still alive when they finally drag themselves there. Judging by the speed they were going, they might very well end up dying of old age by that time.

Through some miracle, they managed to reach the injured squad before sunset. Locating them was easy, a large crowd of onlookers had gathered there. Hitsugaya's team had to push their way through them. Then they finally saw the squad in need.

There were six of them. Three seemed to be well enough, only some minor bruises and scraps, three were lying on the ground, apparently severely wounded. Hitsugaya's eyes were drawn to a young girl with her hair done in a bun. Her shihakushou was soaked through with blood, which was easily apparent despite its black color. Hitsugaya headed for her, giving orders to the two senior members of his unit to look after the two other downed shinigami and Hanatarou to look after the three who seemed mostly alright.

He knelt down next to the girl. He immediately began examining her for wounds, he couldn't see right away where the blood was coming from. Then he noticed her face and gasped. Hinamori? He blinked to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. Nope. It was really her. He couldn't understand how he hadn't recognized her sooner. It must have been the bun. It made her look different, more serious, older. Nothing like his Bed-Wetter Momo.

He shook his head. There were more pressing matters than Hinamori's new hairstyle. Namely finding out where was all the blood coming from before the girl bled out. For a moment, he felt like he was back at the plain where they conducted their last Academy exercise. He felt panic rising in him. This was almost exactly the scene that had been haunting his nightmares for almost half a year. Suddenly he felt completely helpless again, unable to do anything but watch as Hinamori's life flowed from her wounds. He took a steadying breath. He wasn't a helpless little child anymore. He was the Eighteenth Seat of the Fourth Division, commander of the 14th Medical Relief Unit and he had spent months studying his hardest to prepare for situations like this. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do.

He reactivated the diagnosing Kidou, which he didn't realize he had dropped in his shock and resumed scanning her. He couldn't find any major wound on her torso. Maybe the blood wasn't hers? He certainly hoped so. But he noticed a serious injury on the side of her head. Something must have struck her with great force. The skin was torn and there were tiny cracks in the skull. Fortunately no bone fragments were dislocated, but she had a serious concussion. He'll have to work fast or she might end up with lasting brain damage. He opened his medical pack and reached inside for the necessary equipment. Then he began working.

Some time later he concluded that he did as much as he could with his limited abilities. He managed to reduce the swelling around her wound to non-threatening levels. Hinamori was safe for transport now. He sat back on his heels and wiped the sweat form his brow. He felt more exhausted than after fighting a Hollow. Not that the healing took so much reiryoku, but because of the precision required and the thought of what would have happened if he made even the smallest misstep. The feeling of responsibility was almost too much to bear.

He looked around to see what the others were doing. Biwa seemed to have finished treatment some time ago and was now preparing his patient for transport. Taka was still working, her hands glowing green. Hanatarou was busy bandaging up somebody's arm. Hitsugaya got up and walked over to Taka.

"Need any help?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head, "this is his only wound and I'm almost finished healing it." Hitsugaya nodded and returned to Hinamori. He had to prepare her for transport too. Soon everybody was prepared to return to Seireitei.

"Let's go," Hitsugaya commanded and everybody stood up, picking up the stretchers with the three unconscious patients. Then suddenly there was the sound of a falling body and one of the seemingly healthy members of the Fifth collapsed to the ground unmoving.

"Nakata-san!" one of his squadmates called in panic. Hitsugaya nearly dropped the stretcher with Hinamori, but got a hold of himself soon and laid her on the ground gently.

"I looked him over," Hanatarou exclaimed panicky. "He was alright, wasn't he?"

"Obviously not," Biwa replied condescendingly. The boy shrunk under his accusing glare.

"Stop blaming him and help me treat him," Hitsugaya ordered. He was already kneeling next to the unlucky man, running a diagnostic Kidou over him. Then he frowned. What was the problem? He couldn't see anything wrong. He tried again, this time paying more attention to the details. Yet it wasn't until after he noticed a tiny droplet of blood just below his hairline that he got a clue what the problem might be. He carefully examined the patient's head. There was a seemingly tiny, but actually deep wound, like a thin needle had pierced his skull and brain. Now seeing it, he had to wonder how Nakata had stayed conscious, or even alive for so long.

"There's a puncture wound in his head," he announced.

"I didn't think to look there," Hanatarou choked. "He didn't say anything about headache, he only showed me the scratches on his forearm." The boy's eyes were wide and scared.

Hitsugaya paid him little attention and concentrated on examining the wound. Brain damage was always tricky and only experienced healers began to learn how to treat it. And he was just a beginner. This seemed to be beyond his abilities to heal.

He tried it anyway. The basic regeneration-stimulating Kidou could theoretically cure almost anything, but it required precision in directing it to its target. Otherwise it was too slow and ineffective. And that's exactly what happened this time. After a minute, Hitsugaya had to conclude that the patient's condition wasn't getting any better. If anything, it seemed to deteriorate as more blood poured out of his veins and pressed at the brain tissue.

"This is no use," he said. "I'm going to carry him to the Relief Station. You follow at your own pace. And examine the other two again," he added as an afterthought. If there could be a hidden wound on one of them, it could be on the others too. It might be even on Hinamori... He choked. He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought. No! He couldn't think like that. He had examined Momo himself and he didn't find anything wrong with her besides her concussion. She wasn't going to suddenly die on him, but Nakata just might. He had a duty to fulfill. He picked up the suffering man, ignored Hanatarou's downtrodden face and shunpoed towards Seireitei.

He nearly exhausted himself racing to get there in time. Fortunately the man was still breathing when he sprinted through the doors of the Relief Station. He immediately called for some top-notch medic, but was disappointed. The really good ones weren't currently available. Some klutz from the Twelfth had blown up a laboratory while he was away and the top four seats of their division had their hands full with several cases of complicated poisoning and chemical burns. The best he could find was the Fifth Seat Iemura Yasochika.

Hitsugaya never liked the man. He wasn't mean, but he was a self-important bureaucrat with skewed sense of priorities. He wanted Hitsugaya to fill a form before he would look at the patient. Toushirou lost his composure and shouted at him that Nakata didn't have that much time. That made Iemura look up from his diary. But still it took him two precious minutes to agree that the patient was really in serious, if not critical condition and proceeded to treat him immediately, all the time muttering something about insubordinate little brats.

Hitsugaya leaned against the lounge and sighed deeply. He wasn't worried about getting in trouble for shouting at his superior. He was more worried about what was going to happen when the rest of his unit carried Hinamori in and there wouldn't be any capable medic in attendance. He didn't even want to think what would happen if an incompetent like Iemura got his hands on her. And than he thought about how long it would take his usually snail-paced unit to drag three unconscious people all the way from the 12th district. He concluded that too long and decided to go out and help them.

He dreaded what state he was going to find them in, but when he located them, he found out that nobody looked significantly worse than they did the last time he saw them. And they even covered more distance then he had expected. He sighed in relief. Then he helped them carry the stretchers.

When they arrived at the Relief Station, they found out that most of the wounded from the laboratory explosion were already taken care of and there were some competent healers available. He watched as Kotetsu-sanseki took Hinamori away. He wanted to go with her, but the tall girl told him not to, that Hinamori was in her care now and he should get some rest. Or return to his duties or whatever else he was supposed to do. He instead remained standing in the hallway, staring blankly at the door Isane and Momo had disappeared behind. He didn't even imagine what was going on behind them, he didn't have the energy needed.

He stood there until a loud wail snapped him back to reality. He turned around to see Iemura talking with the two conscious Fifth squad members. The female one had her face hidden in her palms and was apparently sobbing. Hitsugaya had the sinking feeling that he already knew what the bespectacled man had told them. He walked over to them to confirm his suspicion. He was right. Nakata was dead. Hitsugaya couldn't say he was surprised. When he had seen the man's rapidly deteriorating condition, he had expected such outcome, but he had still hoped for his survival. He was greatly saddened that it wasn't going to be.

But he wasn't the one taking it the hardest and neither were the deceased man's comrades. That honor belonged to a boy huddled in the corner, shaking with silent sobs. It occurred to Hitsugaya that this might be the first time somebody had died on Hanatarou. He felt that he should do something to comfort his subordinate, but he didn't know what. Interpersonal relations were never his forte. He decided to try anyway.

He walked slowly to the crying boy, remembering what Granny used to do when he was feeling down. Somehow he doubted they were going to work. He didn't remember ever feeling that depressed. Though the hot tea method couldn't possibly hurt anything. Right?

He finally arrived to where the younger Yamada was huddled in the corner and licked his lips nervously, wracking his brain for something he should say. 'It's going to be alright' sounded incredibly lame as did everything else his mind came up with.

"Would you like some tea?" was what he finally settled for. Hanatarou lifted his head and looked at him blankly. Hitsugaya suddenly felt stupid. What was he doing? This was far outside his area of expertise. But he wasn't about to quit. "I mean, I heard it helps." For a moment, he thought he had put his foot into his mouth, but then the older boy nodded. "Good," Hitsugaya smiled. "Let's go get some." He helped the dark-haired boy to his feet and they headed for the cafeteria.

Some time later, they were seated at a table in a secluded corner, staring blankly at the two cups of slowly cooling liquid. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them knew what to say. Hitsugaya wished Granny was there with him. She would know what to do now. But he couldn't hide behind her skirts anymore. He was an officer of Gotei 13 and he was supposed to be able to solve his trouble on his own. Only this was harder for him than fighting a Hollow.

"Was that the first time somebody died on you?" Toushirou asked when the silence had lasted for too long. Hanatarou flinched. Hitsugaya wanted to kick himself. Did he have to say it so bluntly?

The older boy nodded mutely. And Toushirou was at a loss of words again. Silence ruled once more.

"It was my fault," the dark-haired youth said dejectedly after a while.

"No, it wasn't" Hitsugaya hurried to reassure him, but it sounded hollow even to his own ears. "I should have noticed something, but I was too worried about Hinamori to pay any attention to the others."

"I couldn't find anything wrong with him," the young medical specialist continued. "One moment he was fine and then..." He burst to tears. Hitsugaya watch him for a moment at a loss of what to do and then laid a hand on his shoulder. He hoped he managed to make it reassuring.

"I'm useless," the dark-haired youth continued. "I couldn't even tell there was something was wrong with him. I didn't even think to look. Healing was all I could ever do and now I find I can't do even that. I'm a sorry excuse for a shinigami."

"No, you are not," Toushirou assured him. "I missed the wound the first time too. I had to look twice to find out what the problem was. You are still young. You have all your life to learn and improve." He realized he sounded like an old man. He found it mildly disturbing.

"But that isn't going to help him," Hanatarou whispered desperately. Hitsugaya only hung his head.

"It's going to help those who you'll treat from now on." The dark-haired boy grimaced bitterly.

"Did you see somebody die before, Hitsugaya-san?" Yamada asked so quietly that the white-haired prodigy could barely hear him. The memories of his Academy times flashed before his eyes.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Forgive me, I shouldn't have asked," Hanatarou apologized.

"No, it's alright," Hitsugaya reassured him. He had heard somewhere that sharing a common experience helps people bond. He decided it was worth a try.

"It was at the Academy. I got just moved into the second year class and we were going to the Living World to practice Konsou. Just being there was terrible. It was right after an earthquake and there were dead and injured people everywhere." Hanatarou shuddered.

"I can't imagine something like that."

"I couldn't imagine something like that before I saw it either. Now back to the story."

"You mean this isn't all?" the older boy's eyes widened.

"No," Hitsugaya shook his head. "Our group strayed far away from the instructors. It was incredibly stupid, but Yoshitsuna was prone to being rash and he chased after a soul and we followed him. A Hollow appeared." Hanatarou took a quick breath and his eyes widened in fear.

"You never saw a real Hollow before, did you?" Toushirou asked. Yamada shook his head.

"What was it like?"

"Ugly. Terrible. Like a big scorpion. It batted Yoshitsuna and Minako aside like they were nothing and I was the only one left to battle it. I was just over two months into the Academy and didn't know much about combat. I got knocked down soon and as it loomed over me, I thought I was going to die. The Minako suddenly appeared and cut of its claw. And then it struck her form behind with its tail. She didn't see it coming. She looked so surprised as she died."

"That must have been terrible," Hanatarou stated trying to imagine the scene.

"It was."

"What happened next?"

"That was when I discovered the name of my zanpakutou and slay the Hollow."

"You're so powerful," Hanatarou sighed with hints of admiration, jealousy and longing in his voice. "I wish I could be like you too. I can't even hear my zanpakutou."

"It will come with time," Hitsugaya automatically repeated the phrase the Academy teachers were so fond of. He realized that it was a mistake upon hearing the older boy sighing in desperation.

"I'm not making any progress."

"It just feels like that. I'm sure you'll discover it eventually."

"Hm." Silence settled over them once again. Hitsugaya made a few more attempts at cheering up his subordinate (colleague? Or even friend? Could he call him that?), but he had little success. Only when the night begin to give way to dawn, the dark haired boy finally succumbed to his exhaustion and Hitsugaya carried him to their shared room. He felt like there were more such nights to come.

.*****************************************************************************************.

When he finally found the time to visit Hinamori, she was already awake and chatting with Kira. Her hair was down once again and Hitsugaya noted that he liked it better this way.

"Shirou-chan!" she greeted upon seeing him. He scowled.

"Don't call me that," he admonished her. Then he realized he might have been a bit too harsh to her. She did just survive a serious blow to the head and he had been worried about her terribly. But he was also exhausted by trying to comfort Hanatarou and combined with the guilt he felt for Nakata's death, it made his temper even shorter than usual.

Hinamori looked hurt. Toushirou realized that he really put his foot in it this time.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm glad to see you alright. You are alright, aren't you?"

"Yes," she answered, but it didn't sound too convincing. "Kotetsu-sanseki said I should be able to return to my duties tomorrow."

"That's good to hear."

"So how are you, Toushirou?"

"Good." It was a lie, but Hinamori never questioned it. "And you?"

"Aside from being stuck here? I'm doing well. I'm the Fifteenth Seat now. Aizen-taichou says I'm going to get far." Her eyes gained the familiar sparkling quality. Toushirou sighed. Some things never changed.

"That's good for you. Unless it gets you hurt or worse, killed." Momo looked downtrodden and Hitsugaya regretted saying it.

"That was insensitive of you," Kira chastised him.

"No, he's right, Kira-kun. Being a seated officer is great responsibility and yesterday I failed. I will train harder so I won't fail Aizen-taichou again."

"Is he all you think about?" Hitsugaya sighed. "Why didn't you say 'I'll try harder so I don't get myself and my men killed'?" Momo blinked. For a moment it looked like she seriously didn't consider it from this viewpoint.

"I thought that was so obvious I didn't have to say it," she answered at last.

"So what else's new?" Hitsugaya asked not wanting to talk about anything connected to Aizen anymore. Hinamori's face broke into a large grin.

"I have shikai!" Toushirou grinned back.

"That's great!"

"Yes! Did you see Tobiume yet?"

"No," he shook his head. He was too concerned with her condition to study her zanpakutou.

Momo reached next to her bed, wincing slightly as she did so. Hitsugaya noted it with concern. She showed him a katana with light red hilt and flowery design on the rectangular guard.

"That's her. Isn't she beautiful?"

"She is," the white-haired boy agreed. "Is she powerful?"

"Oh yes," she nodded. "Want me to show it?"

"Here?" Hitsugaya's eyes widened. To his credit, Momo really did look ready to release it there and then.

"No, silly," she laughed. "I mean when I get out."

"Of course. Whenever are we both off duty. Speaking of duty, what about you? You still haven't told me what do you do here."

"I lead a medical-relief unit. I'm Eighteenth Seat now." He tried not to sound bitter. If Momo could be Fifteenth Seat already... But the Fourth had different criteria. It wasn't just about power, but knowledge and skills and Toushirou knew very well that he had still much to learn.

"That's good," Hinamori smiled reassuringly.

"Not exactly," he replied thinking about Nakata and all the mangled bodies he had seen during his short service. He was sure that no other division saw as many of them.

"At least you are safe here, aren't you?" Momo tried to cheer him up.

"But you aren't," he replied.

"I can take care of myself," she scowled.

"Sure you can," he shrugged. "That must be why you are in the hospital."

"Shirou-chan!"

"What?" he shrugged. "Did I say something you didn't like?"

"You're just being yourself. If you care so much why didn't you come earlier?"

"I have duties, you know?"

"Liar. I asked and they said you were off-duty."

"We're never truly off-duty. As an officer, you should know that you can get called on anytime."

"I know," she sighed. "Sorry." The conversation was turning uncomfortable for the both of them. Toushirou decided that it's up time to change the topic.

"So what's up with your new hairstyle?" Momo's eyes lit up.

"Do you like it? It makes me look more professional. It would reflect badly on Aizen-taichou if I didn't." Oh, so the topic change wasn't a success.

"Is he all you think about?" he sighed.

"Do you have to start again?" she sighed back.

"We haven't seen each other for months and you have to start babbling about your all so precious Aizen-taichou again."

"What do you have against him? And why didn't you come to visit me earlier?"

"I had to study healing. It's much harder than the Academy. And why didn't you visit?"

"I had to work hard to earn the trust Aizen-taichou put in me."

Hitsugaya sighed. He just had no idea what to say to that. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for him at that moment come the announcement that the victims of the regular Eleventh Division's Morning Brawl were just coming in and all able hands were required to help. He quickly excused himself and headed for the main reception area. After finishing bandaging all the gashes, he was so tired he had to sleep. When he woke up, Hinamori was already gone.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Things were a bit strained after the incident. Hanatarou was a complete mess, blaming himself for Nakata's death like he stabbed him himself, barely able to fulfill his duties anymore. Hitsugaya wasn't much better of. Hanatarou was suffering from nightmares and often woke up crying in the middle of the night, which disturbed Hitsugaya who in turn was plagued by nightmares of his own. As a result, neither of the boys got much sleep for several weeks and they had to restore to the Fourth Division's Energy Pills to keep themselves awake on duty, not that the balls did much good.

As time progressed, the incident slowly became a thing of the past and the nightmares stopped coming so often. Life became a routine of work and training with some sleep wedged in between once again. But peace never lasted long. Toushirou really should have learned that by now.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya was just carrying a load of clean bedsheets, when he heard the sounds of a scuffle coming from a nearby room. He sighed. It sounded like the Eleventh was at it again. He hated it. They reminded him of Yoshitsuna and his gang, only their whole division was like that. He couldn't understand how could the command tolerate it, though he understood that kicking out a whole division would be a serious blow to the strength of Gotei 13. Yet he always felt like exploding when he saw it. But Unohana-taichou always told them to be patient and not provoke them further and if things got really bad, call her. She always did manage to put the thugs in their places with a single word, but they started anew the moment she was out of sight. Why couldn't they deal with them themselves? Well, most of the Fourth Divisioners couldn't beat an Eleventh member, but that didn't mean they were defenseless. There were still a plenty of ways to get back at somebody. Like giving them only foul-tasting food or forgetting to administer their painkillers. But Unohana strictly prohibited such behavior. The services of the Fourth Division had to be top-notch as long as she was its captain.

But just standing and taking all the abuse the Eleventh Divisioners heaped upon them went against Hitsugaya's nature. Everything in him wanted to just take his zanpakutou and beat their superior attitude out of them, probably along with several teeth. Hyourinmaru agreed with him wholeheartedly and was quite disappointed that Hitsugaya never actually did it. But he didn't want to get into trouble with his superiors. He just knew they would end up with the conclusion that it was somehow entirely his fault. So he gritted his teeth and went on his way.

Yet when he heard a terrified girl's scream, he couldn't just ignore it anymore. He dropped the pile of clean sheets, turned around and barged through the door. Quite predictably, he saw two of the Eleventh Division's lower seats, who had beaten each other bloody yesterday, but were feeling much better today. One of them was holding a scared young nurse.

"It's just a kiss," the man said. "Don't be so shy." The nurse squirmed, trying to get out of his grip.

"Let her go!" Hitsugaya shouted.

"Don't interrupt, brat," the other man scolded him. "This isn't for kids."

"I said let her go," Hitsugaya growled, releasing a bit of his reiatsu.

"Heh," the Eleventh Division member not holding the girl grinned. "Do you see it, Noburu? The little one wants to fight. Get lost, brat, before something happens to you."

"No," Hitsugaya growled. "You two get lost before something happens to you." He was getting angrier and angrier at the two men every second. The fact that he was alone against two members of the supposedly strongest division and didn't have his zanpakutou on him didn't bother him at all. They were swordless as well and they probably had some lingering effects of their injuries.

The guy holding the nurse laughed, but it sounded a bit strained. It was hard to laugh confidently when he was suddenly feeling cold. "That's quite some nerve you got there, Fourth Divisioner. I think we should put you to your place, don't you agree, Ryouta?" He let go of the girl and stood up. The nurse took the opportunity to run to the nearest window. Ryouta stood up as well and they both advanced on Hitsugaya, doing their best to look menacing. Most people in his position would be running for the hills, but not him. He wasn't even feeling intimidated. He was looking forward to what was about to happen. He had spent so long training, without the opportunity to try his skill in real combat. And now those two goons were asking for a fight, he had no intention of denying them. He could almost hear Hyourinmaru roaring in his mind, despite the zanpakutou being in his room.

The two walked all the way to him and now they loomed over him menacingly. Toushirou felt a little sliver of doubt. It's been a long time since he had a real sparring match. What if his senses had dulled in the meantime? He squashed it mercilessly. There was no reason to fear now. There were only too morons waiting for him to pound some sense into them.

"Scared now?" Noburu asked.

"No," Hitsugaya asked. "Are you scared?"

"Of course not!"

"You should be," Toushirou informed him. Noburu scoffed and swung at him.

Hitsugaya narrowly dodged his fist and kicked his knee. Before he could do anything else, Ryouta tried to kick his stomach. Hitsugaya jumped back.

"You brat!" Noburu shouted angrily. "I'm gonna teach you!"

Hitsugaya didn't wait for his lesson and sprung to attack instead. He chose Ryouta as his target, the man was off-balance after his failed kick. He leapt high, aiming a punch at his head. The man blocked, but Hitsugaya expected that. The moment Ryouta obscured his vision with his own sleeve, he kicked him in the ribs. The man cried in pain and doubled over. It was a bit extreme reaction considering the hit wasn't that hard, but it must have aggravated some of his injuries.

Before Toushirou could follow with his attack, he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. He quickly lifted his arms to protect his head, but Noburu's hit threw him across the room anyway. He landed on his feet and turned to face his opponents. Ryouta was hunched on the ground, having trouble breathing, but Noburu dashed across the room and was almost upon him. Hitsugaya threw himself to the side to avoid his fist. He kicked his shin in the process, but it had no effect. Noburu turned on his heel, his arm positioned to punch him again. But there was a glaring hole in his defense. Hitsugaya covered the short distance between them with a flash step and punched Noburu in the stomach with all his might. The man collapsed in a huff, blood seeping through his hospital gown. Hitsugaya winced. He must have reopened his wound with his last hit. That wasn't good. If he injured him seriously, he should take care of his would now, no matter that they were fighting just a moment before. It was his duty as a member of the Fourth Division, no matter that the goon deserved what happened to him.

His train of thought was interrupted with a fist to the side of his head. He crashed in the wall, stars dancing in front of his eyes. Through them, he saw Ryouta approaching him with murder in his eyes.

"You're going to pay for this, brat," he growled menacingly. He was obviously very sure of his victory, otherwise he would have followed up his attack immediately and Hitsugaya wouldn't have been able to stop him, considering how much his head reeled from the blow. But the short breather Ryouta had allowed him was enough to gather his bearings. When the man came within striking distance, he was capable of fighting again. When Ryouta aimed a punch at his head, he stopped his fist with his left forearm.

The Eleventh Divisioner blinked in surprise. He would have never expected a display of such strength form a little shrimp from the Fourth. That's why he didn't even react when Hitsugaya's foot shot up, striking his groin. He howled and fell to his knees.

"What's going on here?" Yamada-fukutaichou's voice bellowed from the door. Hitsugaya winced. The presence of Yamada Seinosuke never bode well for anyone. Toushirou gulped in an attempt to calm down. Then he slowly turned to face his superior. The tall man stood in the doorway, looking at him with sadistic glee. Beside him was another man, one he recognized as a high-ranking member of the Eleventh. He had seen him only once before but his ... unique appearance was easy to remember. No-one else wore feathers on their eyebrows.

"It looks like two of the Eleventh Division got their asses handed to them by a member of the Fourth," the Eleventh division officer said while looking at his subordinates disapprovingly. "That wasn't beautiful." The two thugs looked at their feet in shame.

"If we weren't wounded..." Noburu started.

"You still had no business losing to a kid from the Fourth," Ayasegawa said.

"And you have no business beating our patients," Seinosuke said to Hitsugaya. "We are here to heal, not to wound. And you call yourself a seated officer of the Fourth. Just wait until I tell Unohana-taichou."

Toushirou paled. Having the lieutenant angry at you was bad enough, but having the captain after your case was much, much worse. Yet he couldn't have just watched at the two thugs had their way with the poor nurse. "I was just protecting the nurse," he said. "They were hurting her."

"What nurse?" Seinosuke asked. Sure enough, there was no young nurse in the room. Only the open window indicated how she had escaped.

"She was here," Toushirou insisted.

"I'm going to Unohana," Seinosuke announced. "And you, boy, should start packing. I doubt you'll be allowed to stay a member of the Fourth after this. In fact, I doubt you'll be allowed to stay in the Gotei 13." Shooting him a last evil sneer, the Yonbantai fukutaichou turned on his heel and left.

Hitsugaya remained standing in the room, staring at the ground. A little voice in his head told him he was supposed to be tending to the wounded, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was deep in trouble. Again. He didn't think he did anything really bad, but Yamada Seinosuke never cared about such think. He was only interested in making people's life hell. Like the life in the Fourth Division wasn't crappy enough even without him.

"Hey, kid," the voice of the Eleventh Division officer snapped him out of his reverie. He looked up to see the man watching him with a calculating look in his eyes. "Did you ever think about changing divisions?"

"What?" Hitsugaya blinked. Of course he had been thinking about transferring ever since he got into the Fourth, but the question came out of the blue.

"Because you look like you were meant to be a fighter and not a healer to me. And your superior is a real asshole. And you just beat up two of our seated officers. Sure, they are just Nineteenth Seats and wounded, but still. So how would you like a transfer to the Eleventh?"

"I can?" Hitsugaya asked with hope in his voice. Yumichika couldn't help but smile seeing the eager expression in his wide eyes.

"Sure," he nodded. "You only have to prove your strength to our captain."

"Then yes."

Yumichika smiled. "I knew you'd agree. Let's go."

"Can I fetch my zanpakutou first?"

"Of course."

.*****************************************************************************************.

They arrived at the Eleventh Division Headquarters shortly. They walked into the main courtyard, where several lower-ranked division members were lounging around drinking, watching a fight between two of them and placing bets on the result.

"Hello, Ayasegawa-nanaseki," one of the gathered shinigami greeted. "And why did you bring the kid here? I didn't hear about anybody being hurt. Though looking at the two of them..." he nodded towards the two fighters. Almost as soon as he said that, there was a cry of pain and one of the combatants clutched his side. But, as a true member of the Eleventh, he refused to let it inconvenience him and kept on fighting.

"Actually, I want him to join the Eleventh," Yumichika answered. There was a moment of stunned silence. Then the crowd exploded.

"What?" "Are you crazy?" "A wimpy Fourth Divisioner?" "That's a good one!"

"I'm serious," Ayasegawa replied. "This little guy beat up Sagara and Takahashi."

"What?" "Really?" "But they were wounded." "They're just Nineteenth Seats."

"Say what you want, this one was wasted in the Fourth. Besides, it'll be nice to have someone beautiful to look at here." Hitsugaya gulped. He really didn't like the sound of this. He wondered whether he still could run back to the Fourth. But he didn't. This was what he had wanted – his chance to get into a combat division. He wasn't going to throw it away because of some creep.

"Hah," one of the gathered shinigami, a man taller and rougher looking than most of the crowd, said. "I won't believe he's worth anything until I see it."

"Of course, Kuwabara," Yumichika nodded. "He has to show what he's made of. Enjoy yourselves, I'm going to inform taichou." He turned and left. Kuwabara stepped closer to Hitsugaya, looming over him menacingly.

"Don't think you can beat me, brat," he said with a sneer. "I'm the Eighteenth Seat, much more powerful that the two losers."

"Only one level above loser?" Hitsugaya asked. "Than this fight shouldn't be hard."

"Don't be so cocky, brat," the man warned him, unsheathing his sword. Hitsugaya did the same.

"I can say the same for you," he retorted. "And enough of the talking. I didn't have a decent fight in months, so I'm impatient."

"You asked for it," Kuwabara said and attacked.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Locating the captain of the Eleventh Division was never a problem. Anyone with a shred of reiatsu-sensing ability could tell where he was from miles away. Currently he was lounging in his office, watching Yachiru doodle on the paperwork.

"Ah, Yumichika," the big man greeted. "What brings you here?"

"Feathers-chan!" Yachiru exclaimed.

"I brought a new recruit," Ayasegawa answered.

"A newbie!" the girl squealed.

"It's not the time for recruits," Kenpachi pointed out.

"This one is a special case. He was wasting away in the Fourth."

"The Fourth?" Zaraki couldn't believe his eyes. "You dragged one of the wimps here?"

"He's not a wimp, that's why I said he was wasted there. He beat up Sagara and Takahashi. And now he's going against Kuwabara. Do you want to see it?"

"Yay! A fight! Go, Ken-chan!" Yachiru shouted and jumped on his shoulder, despite the fact that he was still lying down.

"Than let's go," Zaraki yielded. "But if he isn't what you said..."

"Special Training!" Yachiru singsonged.

It took a lot of wrong turns, but eventually they arrived at the courtyard. They made their way through the crowd of onlookers to the two fighters in the centre. They arrived just in time to see Hitsugaya standing on Kuwabara's back, the tip of Hyourinmaru touching his neck. The sleeve of the boy's shihakusho was torn and there was a bit of blood visible, but Kuwabara was sporting several gashes on his body.

"What did I say?" Yumichika smirked. "He'll fit in just well."

"Yes, he will," Zaraki agreed. "Hey, kid, you're in." So a little over seven months after his graduation, Hitsugaya became a member of the Eleventh.

Hitsugaya didn't answer. He was too distracted by being tackled by Yachiru.

"Whitey-chan! I'm so glad to have another kid here!" The onlookers laughed at his predicament, though some of them winced in sympathy. Toushirou wondered whether he'd spend his time in the Eleventh as her toy.


	6. The taste of battle

**Author's note:** So here comes another chapter. I had a lot of inspiration to write Bleach recently, so I finished it a lot sooner than I expected. As for the traditional ilustration, I haven't finished it yet. I'll probably post it later. And don't expect the next chapter to come so soon. I haven't started working on it yet.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach.

**On the Frozen Plain**** – The taste of battle**

.*****************************************************************************************.

He wasn't sure what to expect from a transfer between two divisions, but somehow he thought it would take longer. But all he had to do was sign some papers, the two captains signed papers as well, and he was officially a member of the Eleventh. Before he left, Unohana-taichou had some parting words for him.

"I guess you really weren't meant to be a healer," she said.

"I guess not." He remembered all the times he stood over a bleeding patient and was frantically trying to guess the best course of action. Pretending he knew what he was doing was extremely tiresome. On the other hand, the two times he had faced a Hollow, there had been never any hesitation. He always knew what to do.

"So your dream was fulfilled." _Well, not exactly, _he thought. He wanted to get into a normal division and the Eleventh didn't qualify as one. But it was still a step up from the Fourth in his opinion.

"Yes," he said. There was no need to tell Unohana what he really thought. He was on his way to his dream and that was all that counted.

"As for the incident earlier today, there will be no charges against you. Nurse Tanaka confirmed that you were defending her."

"And what about the two?" he inquired.

"That's in the competence of the Eleventh. I heard something about special training with Kusajishi-fukutaichou." Hitsugaya remembered his only encounter with the pink ball of energy and shuddered. It sounded like an exceptionally cruel punishment. Though he wasn't sure whether they were being punished for attacking the girl or for losing to him.

"I want delay you anymore. If you want to move before the evening, you are going to be busy."

"Thank you, Unohana-taichou," Hitsugaya bowed deeply.

After that, he went to his room to pack his things. There he met Hanatarou, who was naturally curious what was going on. When he heard about Hitsugaya's transfer, he looked at the younger boy fearfully. Toushirou tried to explain that nothing changed between them, but failed. Hanatarou's fear of the Eleventh was too deep set. It was strange because the boy had been in the Fourth for just over a half a year, but he must have heard tales about them from his elder brother. Scaring little children was just like Seinosuke. Hitsugaya sighed. It looked like he didn't have a friend anymore. After that, he left the Fourth Division barracks and with one last look at the Relief Station headed to his new home.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The Eleventh wasn't in the habit of making much fuss about anything. Because he had defeated an Eighteenth Seat in fair combat, that was going to be his new rank now. Captain Zaraki filled the proper paperwork before he returned with his packed belongings from the Fourth. After signing a few documents, Zaraki told the closest subordinate to show him to his room and informed Hitsugaya, that he was expected to attend tomorrow's division training and no excuses aside from death were accepted. Hitsugaya nodded in understanding and followed his guide.

Just when they reached the residential wing for lower officers, he was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Hey, shrimp, what are you doing here? I didn't hear that somebody was in the need of a doctor."

"And hello to you too, Abarai," the white-haired boy responded. "And I'm not here to treat anybody. I'm moving in."

"What?" Renji blinked in confusion, theatrically cleaning his ear.

"You heard right," Hitsugaya confirmed, "I've transferred into the Eleventh."

"You? A puny little Fourth Divisioner?" The carrot-top shook his head in disbelief. It looked like the life in the Eleventh did nothing to improve his manners. "I go on patrol and when I return, the whole world has gone crazy. What will happen next? Will they transfer a baby here?"

"I noticed a baby being your fukutaichou," Hitsugaya retorted. "And don't look so high and mighty. Or did you forget already how I always kicked your butt in the Academy?"

"I didn't," Renji grimaced. "But I've been practicing with the best for months. I made it to Sixteenth Seat here. And what have you been doing? Playing with Kidou? I bet I can kick your ass now."

Toushirou scowled. He had to admit that thanks to severe lack of sparring-partners his swordsmanship has stagnated, but he wasn't about to admit it aloud. Certainly not to Abarai.

"I bet I can still wipe the floor with you," he stated. "Just let me drop off my stuff and we can see who's right."

Renji's grin nearly split his face in two. "I'm on."

A quarter an hour later, they were standing on the now familiar practice field, with a crowd of onlookers gathered at the edges. Fourth Seat Iba was acting as their judge.

"Begin!" he called and Renji instantly sprung into action. Hitsugaya's eyes widened. The redhead didn't use to be so fast back in their Academy days. He raised his sword to block. Abarai's blade impacted against his with much more strength than he had expected. He gritted his teeth. It was all he could do not to be pushed back. Renji attacked again. Toushirou didn't wait for the blow to land and flash stepped away. He appeared a step behind Abarai, who was off balance because his attack didn't find his target. Hitsugaya attacked his unprotected back, but the redhead sensed it and quickly jumped forward. Hyourinmaru's tip just narrowly missed his ribs. Jeers were heard from the crowd complaining about Hitsugaya's 'cowardly' tactics.

Renji rolled on the ground and quickly regained his footing. He had to block another attack from Hitsugaya immediately. He deflected his blade and kicked at the prodigy's midsection. Hitsugaya only barely avoided having his breath knocked out of him. He jumped back and narrowed his eyes. This was a tougher battle than he had expected. He would have to try harder if he wanted to win. And he wanted to win. He raised his reiatsu and attacked again.

The battle continued with neither side gaining the upper hand. Both opponents were sweating and panting hard, but neither of them managed to inflict anything more than a shallow cut.

"It looks like you didn't get as rusty as I thought," Renji commented when Hitsugaya's blade drew a few droplets of blood from his forearm. "It looks like I will have to take you seriously. Howl, Zabimaru." Hitsugaya had just enough time to curse before the whip-like blade sailed towards him. He already knew how useless was trying to block it, so he shunpoed away.

"Running already?" the redhead taunted.

"In your dreams!" Toushirou shouted back. He flashed closer to his opponent and attacked. Renji raised Zabimaru to block, then went on the offensive. Hitsugaya barely avoided being wrapped in the deadly weapon, but he escaped with several deep gashes on his torso. He frowned. This wasn't good. Abarai had improved much more than he expected. If this went on, he would have to resort to using his shikai, and he didn't want to do that to a comrade. Though he could control it much better now, sometimes his attacks came off with much more force than he intended and he didn't want to smear a friend across the ground.

He tried attacking with his sealed sword again, but Abarai was just too good. Zabimaru was obeying his every thought, one segment ready to block Hitsugaya's blade and the others trying to slice him to pieces. He received several more wounds for his trouble, thankfully none of them were serious. _There's no helping it,_ he thought.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru." His blade lengthened slightly and disappeared under a layer of ice. A crescent blade appeared at the end of the hilt. Hitsugaya pulled on the chain it was attached to. That was Zabimaru's weakness. If he could just capture the saw-like blade, he could pull it out of its master's grip.

"That trick won't work twice," Abarai called.

"Let's see," Hitsugaya replied and charged into attack.

For a while, the match was turning in Hitsugaya's favor. He was pushing Renji back, but he didn't manage to capture his blade. He scored a few hits, but nothing decisive. Then his wounds started catching up to him. He was beginning to feel weak, no longer able to overpower Abarai and the redhead realized it as well, judging from his grin. Soon Toushirou was barely holding his own. But he didn't want to lose. There was no way he was going to lose to this one person in particular and in front of so many witnesses to boot. Fortunately he still had some trump cards to play.

He gathered what reiryoku he had left and willed it to become an ice dragon. Renji's eyes widened in surprise. Hitsugaya swung his blade down. Abarai had no chance to dodge the attack point-blank. He tried to block, but it did him little good against the overwhelming power of Hyourinmaru's attack. He was sent flying back until he hit a wall. Then he slumped down unconscious.

Hitsugaya sank to his knees, panting heavily. He dismissed his shikai and sheathed his sword. Then he went on to close his wounds.

"That was low!" somebody from the crowd called.

"Coward. Couldn't accept he was losing so he cheated," someone else added.

"Doesn't belong to the Eleventh."

"That's right."

Hitsugaya did his best to ignore them. He was used to people talking badly about him, but this was the worst since his coming to the Seireitei. Once again, he wondered whether transferring to the Eleventh had been a good idea. But then he recalled the fight. The near-defeat hit his pride hard. Abarai had gotten so strong in just a few short months. Hitsugaya wanted to get stronger too. And the Eleventh was the best place to improve his swordsmanship.

He stood up. His wounds have stopped bleeding for the moment, he could heal them completely later. He hobbled over to where Renji lay. His training from the Fourth took over. He activated a diagnostic Kidou and ran it over Renji.

"He really should have stayed in the Fourth," somebody commented.

"Maybe he already wants to return there. Look, he's already doing their job," another sneered.

"I'm making sure one of my comrades is alright," Hitsugaya replied. "I didn't see any of you checking him for wounds."

"We at the Eleventh are tougher than this," somebody scoffed. "He'd bounce back in no time."

"That isn't the point," Hitsugaya replied, having come to the same conclusion. Renji had no serious wound and he was already beginning to stir.

"If he didn't survive it, then he wasn't good enough to be in the Eleventh, so good riddance to him," the same voice stated. Toushirou could just hear the shrug in his voice. He saw red. He couldn't really call Renji a friend, but seeing such indifference about his life made him mad. He stood up swiftly, trying to conceal how light-headed it made him feel.

"Who said that?" he demanded.

"I did," the speaker revealed himself. He was a big and strong man, unremarkable among other members of the Eleventh. The only thing that set him apart was the mean glint in his eyes. "What about it?"

"I really don't like what you just said," Hitsugaya informed him.

"So what?" the man shrugged. "What do I care about what some puny Fourth Divisioner thinks? Run back to Unohana before something happens to you."

"I'm going to make you eat your words," Toushirou informed him. "Tomorrow, this time, here."

"Why not right now? Are you scared, little one?"

"Oh no," Hitsugaya shook his head, which caused stars to appear in front of his eyes. "I'm only worried about your reputation. What would happen to it when you insist on fighting a wounded, tired opponent? I'd say you're too scared to fight a fresh one. But if you insist, I can still make you known far and wide as the guy who lost to an opponent who was barely standing." Toushirou wasn't sure if he could really manage it, in fact, he was almost certain he couldn't, but he counted on the man not accepting his offer. By this time tomorrow, he would be healed and rested and ready to show him up.

"Well, tomorrow than," the man agreed. Hitsugaya grinned. He was already looking forward to the fight. He could hear Hyourinmaru roar in approval. The dragon was ecstatic at the prospect of soaring again so soon. He had been bored out of his mind during their time in the Fourth.

"Then it's a challenge," Iba spoke. "Tomorrow here will be a duel between Eighteenth Seat Hitsugaya and Fifth Seat Oda." Fifth Seat? Toushirou's eyes widened in shock. Oh, crap.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya was staring at the ceiling of the Fourth Division's Relief station. _Note to self: never ever challenge somebody without knowing their abilities first. _His fight with Fifth Seat Oda had been short and predictable. He couldn't even touch the older shinigami. He didn't have the time to release his shikai before the man was upon him. After a few desperate blocks, Toushirou's defense had been breached and after that followed the most humiliating beating of his young life. He should call himself lucky he still had all his extremities attached.

And now he was lying beaten in the hospital ran by his former division, his former squadmates tending to him. And watching him like some exotic animal or a dangerous madman, depending on the person. Their former camaraderie was completely gone. He couldn't blame them. The Eleventh had been the sworn enemy of the Fourth as long as anyone could remember. And Hitsugaya had transferred there. For his former comrades he became the worst kind of traitor. He wondered whether they would fear him more or less if he sided with the Hollows. But it didn't really matter. The important thing was that the Fourth wasn't his home anymore, not that it have ever been any good in that regard.

The problem was that the Eleventh didn't become his new home either. For his new comrades, he was some weakling from the Fourth who was playing at being tough and they fully intended to beat such ridiculous notions out of his mind. It was unfortunate, but he was prepared to explain to anybody who doubted him that he was strong enough to be in the Eleventh. He just would have to train a lot before trying to explain it to anyone above Fifteenth Seat.

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of door opening. He turned his head to see Yamada Seinosuke walk into the room. He suppressed a sigh. He had thought that he wouldn't have to worry about the bully anymore, but he was obviously mistaken.

"So you're awake finally," the tall lieutenant said in his usual condescending tone. Hitsugaya didn't bother to answer. Talking with the Yonbantai fukutaichou was always an unpleasant experience and he felt that he wasn't obliged to endure it anymore. "Such rudeness," the medic continued, "You've been at the Eleventh for just a day and you've already picked up their lack of manners."

"Was there something you wanted, Yamada-fukutaichou?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Actually, yes," the man replied. "We got a report that there was a battle and there should be a large number of wounded coming in soon. So we're emptying the beds. And since you are obviously awake and well, you are hereby discharged from the hospital."

"What? No checkup?" Toushirou asked.

"Why bother?" Seinosuke shrugged. "You are obviously well. And besides, you Eleventh Divisioners are sturdy. There's no need to worry about your health."

"Of course not." Hitsugaya dragged himself from the bed, trying to suppress the wince. Everything still hurt, but he could tell that he didn't have any dangerous injury. Even Yamada Seinosuke wouldn't dare to throw him out otherwise. He dressed in his shihakushou and walked through the hallways bustling with their usual activity, not the frantic rush associated with upcoming onslaught of patients. Figures. He decided not to dwell on it any longer and headed to the Eleventh. He'll have to figure out how to survive there.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The Eleventh had few rules, but was fanatical about adhering to them. Hitsugaya figured that much soon. So the strategy for a bearable stay in the Eleventh should be easy. The problem was that he found most of the rules quite stupid.

The one-on-one fights rule made sense in training, but against Hollows? The objective wasn't to enjoy the battle, but to purify the fallen soul. And what if his comrade was about to lose? Was he really expected to just stand by and watch as he was eaten? He couldn't do that.

And the swordsmanship/melee-type shikai only rule. Well, he understood that sword was more effective in battle than kidou, unless one was a kidou master who could cast spell left and right without incantation, but there were so many other uses for it. Like healing. Or taking captives. And then there were Hollows with special abilities which made for a good defense against zanjutsu, usually by not allowing the shinigami to come close. A long-range kidou attack could do a lot to disable them. Why insisting on making the fight harder?

And their insistence that anyone with a kidou-type zanpakutou was a coward. That didn't make a shred of sense. Nobody could willingly choose their power. In his opinion, people should be judged by their actions, not the form of their shikai.

All in all, he felt like he was stuck among a bunch of overgrown children caring more about their own enjoyment than their duties. It was weird. He was too young to be the only adult around.

So the real question was what he should do. He decided that he'd do it like he used to at the Fourth: attend all the official trainings, improve in swordsmanship so nobody could blame him for slacking off and in his spare time practice his shikai, kidou and shunpo, only now he would have to make sure nobody could see him. Unfortunately that was easier said than done. The Eleventh was a combat-oriented division and their training fields were almost always busy. There were spars going on even in the middle of the night. And they also didn't have a kidou practice range. So Toushirou was forced to look for quiet training spots elsewhere.

And even then he had no peace. Yachiru was so ecstatic to have another child in the division that she approached him often, wanting to play. She never failed to locate him, despite her usually atrocious sense of direction. It made him wonder whether she sent Kenpachi on merry runs around Seireitei on purpose.

When she wanted to play for the first time, he didn't know what to do. He wanted to train, not to fool around, but he couldn't send her away. She was his lieutenant after all. Though he wasn't sure whether she got the position through her abilities or just because Zaraki said so and nobody dared or bothered to tell him no.

Then he found out that her idea of 'playing' was a battle. Now that sounded better. It was much closer to what he wanted to do originally. But it made him feel apprehensive. There in front of him stood probably the only person in the entire Gotei 13 that was even younger and smaller than him. She looked so sweet with her ridiculous pink hair, like a little kitten unable to do any harm. It occurred to Hitsugaya that this was how people viewed him, at least until he beat them. So was Yachiru going to beat him too? The memory of his fight against Oda was still too fresh. Or was she really just Zaraki's accessory unable to fight on her own? _Looks like I'm going to find out soon, _he thought.

Yachiru drew her zanpakutou. It was short, suiting her size well. It also had a ridiculous flower-shaped guard. He drew Hyourinmaru and stood against her. It felt weird. He was used to fight opponents taller than him and had no experience with fighting the shorter ones.

Yachiru charged. _Fast, _Hitsugaya realized. He blocked her swing. _And strong too._ She crouched down and tried to cut his legs. He blocked again and tried to kick her. She dodged and attacked from a different direction. _But it's manageable, _he thought. _If she isn't holding out on me, I can keep with her pace._

Then Yachiru raised her reiatsu and her next attack sent Hitsugaya skidding across the ground. _Looks like she was holding out, _he thought as he raised his own spiritual pressure. The fight went on. Hitsugaya came to the conclusion that while the girl was fast and strong, she had very little in the way of sword techniques. It looked like the only tactic she knew was to dash in, swing her wakizashi and back off before her opponent could counterattack. Such tactics were effective, but only when used as a surprise. Once it became predictable, it wasn't half as dangerous. His longer reach helped him from preventing her from getting within striking distance.

He wondered why she didn't have a wider arsenal of techniques. Then he remembered that she had been in the Gotei 13 for a very short time. How long it was since Zaraki arrived from the furthest ring of Rukongai, defeated the Tenth Kenpachi, took his haori from his corpse and declared the little girl hanging on his back his lieutenant and beat up everybody who objected? Four years? Five? That could be about right. It was less than what the average shinigami spent studying at the Academy. She might have had some training before, but it couldn't have been much. She looked like it wasn't so long since she learned to walk. He decided that she wasn't good enough to be a Second Seat yet, but she would get there eventually. Maybe even soon.

His distraction cost him. He reacted too late to one of her charges and her sword carved a gash into his side. He yelped and kicked at her. She swiftly moved away from his reach. But Hitsugaya wasn't done yet. _Let's see how well you can defend._

Yachiru waited for nothing and attacked again. This time Hitsugaya dodged and swung at her unprotected back as she passed by him. The little girl dashed forward and avoided the tip of his blade narrowly. She turned around for another attack. Hitsugaya moved Hyourinmaru into defensive position. Yachiru jumped forward, her zanpakutou raised. _So this time she's coming from above. _He blocked so her blade would slide along his. Then when she was getting close to him he pushed sideways. Yachiru kicked and hit him on the forehead, but he didn't let it faze him. He continued his maneuver and threw Yachiru sideways. He didn't wait for her to land and jumped after her.

Yachiru landed with a thud and quickly rolled onto her back. She lifted her zanpakutou and aimed it at Toushirou as if it was a spear. His eyes widened. He was going to impale himself on her weapon and there was no way he could change his course midair. He reacted on instinct. He swung his sword, trying to push hers away. She held it firmly. It moved a little bit, but it was still aiming at Hitsugaya's torso. His course changed a bit as well, but it wasn't enough to avoid the hit completely. There was only one thing he could do. Something he had been told about in the Academy, but never dared to try whether it actually worked.

He raised his reiatsu to the max. He wanted to direct it to the area about to be hit, but he didn't have the time. The tip of Yachiru's zanpakutou jabbed into his side. There was a jolt of pain. Then they were lying in one heap on the ground.

Hitsugaya was trying to find out whether his attempt had been a success. Was his reiatsu big enough that Yachiru's weapon couldn't cut through it?

"It's cold." He immediately recognized her voice, but he had never heard it sounding so unhappy. Or even scared?

"Sorry," he apologized rolling away from her. He quickly got his reiatsu back under control. Then he looked at the hit area. His shihakushou was torn, but there was very little blood. A shallow gash instead a wound going through his body. Good.

"Why is it so cold in here?" the little girl asked hugging herself. Hitsugaya noticed that her lips were slightly blue and ice covered the ground around the spot they landed on. There was frost in her hair and on her clothes too.

"Let's get somewhere warmer," he suggested.

"Let's go!" she shouted cheerfully, her previous confusion forgotten. She sheathed her discarded zanpakutou and jumped on Toushirou's back.

"Go there, Shirou-chan!" _Shirou-chan? Did she talk with Hinamori or what?_

"Don't call me Shirou-chan!"

"Why not, Grumpy-chan?" she asked in good mood.

"Just don't."

"Go there, Shirou-chan!"

"I told you...Aaah!" He winced as she pulled on his hair.

"Go there," she growled menacingly. He admitted defeat. He started walking in the direction. It was awkward, because she wasn't that much smaller than him.

"Faster!" his passenger demanded. He obeyed. "Now turn left!" He wondered how long it would take her to get bored and let him return to the barracks.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Life was quite uneventful for some time after that. Hitsugaya trained with the division and his swordsmanship rapidly improved. He had a good motivation: most of the 'real' Eleventh Divisioners considered him a coward and thought it was their duty to beat him up. Toushirou had to become good quickly if he didn't want to spend his entire career in the infirmary. His training paid off when he managed to defeat the Thirteenth Seat, who seemed even more bloodthirsty than the Eleventh's average, but because he had to resort to using his shikai, it was considered 'unfair' and there was no promotion for him. And thanks to his reputation, he never got the command of any unit, despite being a seated officer.

But the Eleventh was a combat-oriented unit, so things never stayed quiet there for long. Hitsugaya's first indication that something was going on was when Ayasegawa pulled him from his training session, saying that they had a mission. It surprised him. He had never gone on a mission with the Eleventh before. Most of his colleagues were of the opinion that a weakling didn't deserve a part in their 'fun.' Therefore he was a bit wary. He was reminded of his initial worries about Yumichika, though the man hadn't tried anything funny.

"What's going on?" he asked while the Seventh Seat dragged him to the Southern Gate.

"I told you already, we have a mission. "There have been powerful Hollows detected in the 80th district of South Rukongai. I got the order to assemble a hunting party and take care of them."

"So where's the party?" Toushirou asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Yumichika raised one perfectly trimmed eyebrow. "You are."

"Huh?" He must have looked extra stupid, because Yumichika sighed theatrically.

"Do I need to repeat myself? I chose you as my unit. I don't want to be known as the one who sullied the Eleventh by bringing in a weakling, so I'll have to toughen you up. Or are you scared of some Hollow?" Well, he was, but he knew better than admit it in front of an Eleventh Divisioner. Hollows weren't as scary as them. "I thought so," Yumichika continued. "So to prove I wasn't wrong when I brought you in, you'll have to prove that there really is strength in you." Hitsugaya nodded. He could tell he was stuck between a hammer and an anvil. On one side there were the powerful Hollows, on the other hundreds of powerful shinigami. He decided to take his chance with the Hollows.

They left Seireitei and headed south, to the furthest reaches of Rukongai. Hitsugaya had trouble keeping up with Yumichika's running speed, so he helped himself with shunpo. The Seventh Seat didn't comment on it.

As they moved away from the center of civilization in Soul Society, they were entering poorer and poorer areas. Hitsugaya had heard that the outer districts were bad, but he had never visited any numbered more than twenty, so he was surprised at how desolate they looked. Yumichika must have noticed his attention wandering, because he suddenly turned to him.

"Never been in Rukongai before?" he asked.

"Never that far," Hitsugaya corrected.

"It isn't beautiful here. But in the further districts, the harsh life makes every soul fight for its very existence, forcing it to find every ounce of strength within. There is where the strongest warriors are born. And that is beautiful."

"Are you from there as well, Ayasegawa-nanaseki?" Toushirou wasn't usually talkative, but he just had to ask.

"Yes. And you?"

"Junrin'an."

"A nice quiet place, isn't it?"

"Hn." Hitsugaya didn't feel like answering that one. Yumichika didn't pry. They continued their journey in silence until they reached their destination.

"Here we are," the older man announced upon reaching the 80th district.

"I can't sense any Hollow energy in the vicinity. Are they even still here?" the boy asked.

"Probably. Clever Hollows don't linger here, but most are too drunk on the easy prey. They are still hiding here and we are going to find them."

"How?" He had learned of methods for detecting Hollows, but he had never tried them. So far, sensing reiatsu was enough.

"We ask," Yumichika answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Who?" Hitsugaya looked pointedly at the deserted streets.

"There are lots of people around, you just have to know where to look," the Seventh Seat announced and marched to the nearest hut. Sure enough, it was full of people who ran screaming the moment he opened the door. Yumichika grabbed one of them and began questioning him. Hitsugaya couldn't make head or tails of the man's stuttered responses and frantic pleading, but Ayasegawa obviously could. After a while, he dropped the terrified man and headed out, Toushirou following at his heals.

The scene repeated several times. Yumichika kept dragging Hitsugaya across the whole district until he finally stopped in the middle of a street.

"Here."

Hitsugaya surveyed the scene. Collapsed houses were to be expected in the neighborhood, but these ones seemed to have fallen recently. In fact, now he looked at them closely, two of them looked like something huge had sat on them. And if he concentrated, he could feel faint hints of Hollow reiatsu in the air. They indeed found the right spot. But the Hollows were nowhere in sight. Hitsugaya stretched his senses, but couldn't find them anywhere.

"What now?" he asked.

"We follow the trail," Ayasegawa answered. He pointed at the demolished houses ahead. Now that Hitsugaya looked at them better, there really seemed to be a trail leading towards the edges of Rukongai. He nearly slapped his face? How could he have missed it earlier? His thoughts must have been written on his face, because Yumichika leaned to him patronizingly. "Don't worry about that. You'll learn to recognize such things soon too."

They followed the trail of destruction. Sometimes footprints were visible in the dirt, giving Toushirou an idea how big the Hollow was. And the sense of putrid reiatsu in the air was steadily growing. They were getting closer. Yet Hitsugaya was completely taken by surprise when there was suddenly a burst of spiritual pressure and a huge shadow loomed over him. Only an instinctive shunpo saved him from getting crushed.

He turned around just as Ayasegawa landed beside him. There stood a Hollow just as big as the one he had faced during the last Academy exercise, but much more dangerous looking. It resembled a giant centipede, if only centipedes had so many claws on their legs. It also had a line of bone-like protrusions sprouting from its back, which somehow looked like they were poisonous. All in all, it looked like it could crush them without breaking a sweat.

"Well, we found it so do your best," Yumichika said and pushed Toushirou forward.

"What?" the boy looked over his shoulder in panic.

"Didn't you hear? There's your Hollow so kill it," the Seventh Seat repeated calmly.

"Alone?" Hitsugaya was on the verge of panic.

"Of course," the beautiful man confirmed with a smile. "Fights are always one on one. Anything else is ugly. Please do not be so ugly as to run from this fight." Something in his tone sent cold shivers running along Hitsugaya's spine. "As I told you, I don't want to be known as the guy who dragged a cowardly weakling into the Eleventh, so please prove your worth." Was it only his imagination or did Ayasegawa really sound ready to kill him if he ran? Whatever it was, he decided to take his chances with the Hollow. It didn't look half as dangerous as the Seventh Seat now.

He gulped and nodded. He unsheathed Hyourinmaru, he didn't have to concentrate on dissolving the sheath anymore, and slowly walked towards the monster. He studied it carefully, trying to find some weak spot. So far, he couldn't see any.

"**So the little one comes first? You don't even count as an appetizer. Come**** at me both at once and maybe you'd give me a workout."**

"That wouldn't be beautiful," Yumichika stated in a bored tone. Hitsugaya suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He couldn't afford a moment of distraction.

"**Your death isn't going to be beautiful,"** the Hollow said. **"I'm going to rip you into bloody shreds before I eat you."**

"You'll have to get through him first," Ayasegawa pointed at Toushirou.

"**A baby who drags his sword on the ground? That won't be a problem." **If Hitsugaya weren't already irritated by the way those two spoke about him, this would do it.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru," he growled. He was going to turn the pesky Hollow into a solid block of ice, shatter it and then shatter it again. And then he'll proceed with Ayasegawa.

"That shikai already? That isn't beautiful. You won't gain respect of the Eleventh like that." Or maybe he'll start with Ayasegawa and leave the Hollow for later.

The Hollow attacked. It was surprisingly fast for its size. It sprung forward, trying to pierce Hitsugaya with the front pair of its legs. The boy jumped aside and sent an ice dragon flying at it. He misjudged its movement a bit and the projectile only broke off two of the spikes at the Hollow's back.

"**That hurt you little piece of crap," **the Hollow informed him. Hitsugaya didn't bother with an answer, he was already shooting another dragon. The Hollow didn't wait for it to land. It turned its remaining spikes against the incoming projectile and shot a white liquid from them. The power behind the blast was such that it shattered the ice construct into pieces. Hitsugaya swore. This was going to be even harder than he had thought.

He had no time to dwell on it longer. The huge centipede shot another blast, this time aimed at him. The boy shunpoed away. He glanced back to see what effect the strange liquid had. Strange. It didn't seem like it did much, it just remained on the ground, but Hitsugaya knew that it didn't mean it was harmless. He'd have to avoid it anyway.

A movement in the corner of his eye was all the warning he had. Another shunpo got him safely out of the range of the blast. _That thing didn't even turn around, _he thought. _Does it have eyes in the back of its head?_ He fired another ice dragon at it, without bothering to aim properly. He just wanted to keep it occupied, so he could think up a strategy. The Hollow dodged easily and jumped at him. Hitsugaya evaded.

"Now that's ugly," Ayasegawa commented. "You're just running around. Don't be a chicken and attack. Are you an Eleventh Divisioner or not?" Hitsugaya considered whether he should kill the Seventh Seat after he'd finish the Hollow. He could blame his demise on the Hollow too. Then the monster attacked again and he had no time to ponder over it. He had to concentrate on survival.

He kept dodging the Hollow's attacks for a while longer, shooting a few of his own, but none of them connecting. He tried to approach it and attack directly, but the claws and thorns decorating the centipede's multiple legs forced him to stay at distance. There was no way he could dodge or block all of them at once. He was trying to come up with a workable strategy, but everything he could come up with was easier said than done.

"That's really, really ugly," Yumichika interrupted his train of thought. "Either fight it like an Eleventh Divisioner or if the Hollow doesn't kill you, I will, so I won't have to look at something so hideous anymore." One look at the beautiful man's face told Hitsugaya that he was deadly serious. And even if he couldn't see that, the hand on the hilt of Fuji Kuujaku was telling. There was no helping it. He had to attack.

He dodged the Hollow's latest blast, firing an ice dragon in the process and when the monster was focused on dodging, he shunpoed towards its head, Hyourinmaru poised to strike. The fallen soul noticed him and turned its blasters against him. He swung his zanpakutou down and ice flew from the blade at the same moment as the white goo shot from the Hollow's spikes. The two attacks grazed each other and changed their trajectories. Hitsugaya's dragon slid on the back of the centipede, breaking a couple of its spikes in the process. The white substance hit Hitsugaya's left arm, enveloping it. The boy tried to attack again, but realized he couldn't move his arm. The white liquid solidified, fixing his elbow in a set position. And it also became quite heavy, as he noted a moment later.

Hitsugaya kicked the Hollow's back and shunpoed away. He couldn't fight a Hollow of this magnitude if one of his limbs was immobile. He had to find a way to free it first. But how? He flashed through his arsenal of kidou. There were many spells that could blast the material apart, but they could blast off his arm as well. So they were out. So what else could he do to shatter it? And then it hit him. Freeze it. He touched the white material with Hyourinmaru and sent his power into it. He could immediately feel the temperature drop.

"Ugly, ugly, ugly," Yumichika's voice sounded. "I almost thought you got the spirit, but now I see you don't. You're running again. It hurts me to look at you." Hitsugaya tried his best to ignore him. But he couldn't help but imagine himself feeding the pompous peacock to the Hollow. _I'd like to see how beautiful you'd be then. Your screaming will certainly sound beautiful to me._

He dodged one more attack from the centipede. Then he smashed the blunt side of his sword on the white casing. Cracks appeared in it. He struck once more, this time harder. The white shell fell apart and he could move freely once more. He swung Hyourinmaru and sent a dragon to intercept another attack from the Hollow. Was it really a bit weaker than before? _It would make sense,_ he mused. _The more spikes the more potent the blast. Now if I could remove them all…_

He sprang into action. One swing of his zanpakutou in his right hand sent another dragon surging forward. The Hollow blocked it with its white goo again. But that was what Hitsugaya wanted. The attack was just cover for a kidou.

"Hadou #31: Shakkahou," he whispered. The ball of red flame shot from his outstretched palm and sped towards the monster's side. It exploded into red smoke, but otherwise it had little effect. Without full incantation, the spell was too weak to inflict damage on a Hollow this powerful. But at least it managed to distract it. The giant centipede was so surprised that something got through its defense that it had to look at the impact point. Hitsugaya used the opportunity to shoot another dragon. The monster reacted too late. It tried to jump out of the way, but the ice projectile hit its rear, carving a deep gash there.

"**You vermin! You're going to pay!" **it roared and charged at Toushirou. It didn't seem hindered by the wound. The boy had barely enough time to get out of the way. But he was smiling. He had just discovered a way to hurt that thing. He continued dodging the beast's vicious attacks and began chanting.

"Ye Lord, masked with flesh and bone, fluttering wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hadou #33: Soukatsui!" Blue flames shot from his fingers, speeding towards the Hollow. It pointed its spikes at it, firing the white substance to block the incoming spell. It was exactly what Hitsugaya wanted. As soon as the Soukatsui left his hand, he swung Hyourinmaru with his other one, shooting a dragon of ice concealed behind the blue flames. As soon as the Kidou and the white goo canceled each other, the ice projectile rushed through the smoke, catching the Hollow by surprise. But once again, it reacted swiftly for its size. It dropped to the ground, letting the dragon, already weakened and redirected by the explosion, pass over its back, only breaking of several more spikes and causing a shallow gash in the process.

"That was better," Ayasegawa commented, "but not how the Eleventh does it. Fight it like a man already." _I almost forgot about you, _Hitsugaya thought sourly. _I really would feed you to the Hollow if you don't shut up now._ He ignored the Seventh Seats advice and proceeded with his current strategy. It seemed to be working.

He wished he could fire two of the ice dragons at once, but that was a skill he had yet to master. Instead he had to resort to firing Kidou with one hand and swinging Hyourinmaru with the other. Because the incantation took too long, he instead fired weak Hadou without using them, figuring that the Hollow wouldn't know they weren't really dangerous. Unfortunately for him the centipede caught on the game quickly, but not before Hitsugaya managed to hit it twice, once breaking off three more of its spikes, the second time destroying a pair of its legs. Neither injury inconvenienced the monster significantly.

"**Do you see how futile your attempts are now, worm? I'm going to eat you whole and then eat that clown as a dessert."**

"You just don't understand true beauty," Yumichika commented. "And you, boy, finally whack it with your sword, I'm getting bored here."

Hitsugaya wanted to shout some insult back, but had to consider the merit of Ayasegawa's words. Even though the Hollow was the one taking damage, he was the one going through his reiryoku faster. If this went on much longer, he would exhaust himself and the centipede would eat him for dinner, just as it promised. But he couldn't get close without getting hit with that white substance. The Hollow seemed to always know where he was. If he only had another, less power-consuming way of distracting it and obscuring its vision than casting kidou.

"_**There is a way."**_

"_Hyourinmaru?"_

"_**You know what I can do. So why don't you use it? You should realize that it's more than just a party trick."**_

"_Thanks. I have completely forgotten we could do that."_

"_**That could be a fatal mistake, child," **_the zanpakutou spirit chastised him. Hitsugaya merely nodded.

"Tensou Juurin." The problem with this technique was that it tended to hit everybody around, but he wasn't really worried that he might harm Ayasegawa. In fact, if he did, he would consider it a bonus.

Dark clouds obscured the sky and heavy snow started falling. Soon the visibility dropped to barely a few paces. Hitsugaya moved silently through the storm. He knew exactly where the Hollow was, but the monster seemed unaware of his exact location.

Finally he decided that he was close enough. He swung Hyourinmaru and sent forth another ice dragon. It was draining when he had to keep the storm going simultaneously, but he managed. The Hollow realized the danger too late to block it. It tried to jump over the blast, but it was too slow. The ice projectile hit its underbelly, making a deep gash and destroying a pair of legs. It whirled around to stomp on Hitsugaya, but the boy swiftly disappeared among the snowflakes. The he shunpoed into position for another sneak attack.

He decided to aim for the mask this time. The Hollow was moving around, looking left and right, trying to determine where did its prey go. That made an unobserved approach a tricky prospect, but Toushirou wasn't deterred by the odds. Finally he decided that his chances were as good as they were going to get and sprung into action. The Hollow's mask was just ten steps from him. He flashed forward, swinging his sword as he flew.

What happened next was so fast that he almost missed it. At one moment he was flying towards the Hollow's mask and in the next there were the centipede's front legs in front of him, dangerously looking spikes extending from them, poised just so he would impale himself on them. _I'm sure it didn't have those before_ was the only thought running through Toushirou's brain. It was too late to change his course. He could only twist in the air so he would prevent serious injury.

He didn't quite make it. He managed to avoid two of the spikes completely, but the third scratched him and the fourth buried itself in his side. At the same time, Hyourinmaru slashed deep into the centipede's side and got stuck there. Toushirou barely noticed it. He was too distracted by the pain in his wound.

"**I have you now, you impudent child,"** the Hollow gloated. **"Do you see how futile your efforts were now?"**

Hitsugaya didn't answer. He got over the worst shock from the injury and could begin to think of a way out of this situation. So he was impaled on the Hollow's claw (or whatever it was.) His blade was lodged into its side and won't come out. So what options did he have left? He could try some Kidou, but that had already proven ineffective. But maybe if he hit it point blank with something powerful, there was no way he could miss now, was there? No, the Hollow wouldn't let him finish the incantation. If he could just free his sword, then he could fire another ice dragon, but now?

"_**Do it anyway."**_

"_What?"_

"_**Do I have to spell it? Use my attack. It will do enough damage."**_

"_Okay."_

Hitsugaya maxed his reiatsu. It didn't rise much, because it was already high, but it was a significant difference.

"**Do you think you can break out, worm?"**

Instead of answering, the shinigami pushed his reiryoku into the sword as if making his attack. He couldn't really form the dragon properly without swinging the blade, but ice formed around in nevertheless. The Hollow roared in pain.

"**What is it?" **it demanded. It swung another of his legs, attempting to stab Toushirou again. But the spike piercing through the boy's body had been frozen by his reiatsu and broke and he could escape. He shunpoed out of the way and looked how his latest attack affected the Hollow. It seemed to have caused more damage than any of the previous ones. A large chunk of its flesh right behind its head was missing and it was obvious that it was in pain. It howled so loudly Hitsugaya's ears were ringing.

The young prodigy wasted no more time. He ignored his own wound, which had frozen and wasn't bleeding, and attacked. He jumped straight at the white mask, hoping that the distracted Hollow would notice him too late and won't do a repeat of its earlier trick. He didn't want to get stabbed again.

He was lucky. He got too high for the centipede to use its legs before it noticed him. It turned its masked face to him, rage burning in its orange eyes. Hitsugaya swung Hyourinmaru's chain. He was aiming at one of its eyes, but the Hollow moved its face slightly, so the chain impacted with the mask just below the eye. A crack formed there and ice covered it. The Hollow howled in pain and outrage. Hitsugaya continued in his jump, getting closer to his distracted target. The monster didn't notice him until it was already too late. It had just enough time to look surprised when Hitsugaya struck. Hyourinmaru buried itself deep in its mask, but the centipede was still alive. He pushed his sword deeper in, activating his signature attack at the same time. He pushed as much reiatsu into it as he could. The fallen soul recognized the danger it was in and used all its power to slow the spreading of the ice. Hitsugaya used all his power to speed it up. It became a contest of endurance. Hitsugaya prevailed. The Hollow stopped shrieking abruptly as its head slowly turned into ice. Hitsugaya twisted Hyourinmaru in the wound, shattering the head along with the mask. The giant centipede slowly dissolved into reishi.

Toushirou dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. The battle took a lot from him. He fell to his knees, sheathing his sword. The snowstorm died down. Hitsugaya examined his wound. It had reopened sometime during the fight and blood was now seeping into his shihakushou. He gathered what reiryoku he had left and activated a healing Kidou.

"My my, that was quite a fight," Yumichika's voice sounded right next to him. "It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I can't deny there was certain beauty in it." Oh, he had almost forgotten about this annoyance. And it was too late to blame his death on the Hollow now.

"Why did you make me fight it alone?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I already told you: I wanted to see whether you have what it takes to be in the Eleventh. Only in the face of mortal peril can the true beauty of a person shine."

"Whatever." Hitsugaya wasn't in the mood to decipher the meaning behind Yumichika's words. He had to concentrate on healing. Ayasegawa must have guessed what he thought about.

"A true warrior shouldn't have to do such things himself. Let's get you to the Fourth." It was the first good suggestion Hitsugaya had heard from the peacock. But something still bothered him.

"Shouldn't there be more?"

"I think this one was the only one. If there were more at some point, they are long gone now," Ayasegawa explained. Toushirou nodded. He didn't protest when he was lifted off the ground and carried off in the direction of Seireitei.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"I don't want to," Hitsugaya repeated for the umpteenth time that evening. He scowled at the cup standing in front of him on the table inside the Eleventh's lounge.

"Come on," Renji prompted. "It's tradition."

"Doing otherwise would be ugly," Yumichika added.

"Just stop playing coy and drink it, kid," Madarame suggested.

"I said I don't want to," Toushirou repeated, ice creeping into his voice. His companions didn't let it bother them. Hitsugaya sighed, staring at the offending cup, wishing it would go away. He wondered why he always ended up in such situations.

This one was easy enough. As soon as he was kicked out of the Coordinated Relief Station, Ayasegawa had grabbed him, insisting that he must come with him to celebrate his first successful purification of a Hollow as a member of the Eleventh. Hitsugaya, having no idea what was in store for him, had followed without complaint. Then he had found out that the Eleventh's idea of celebration was to get drunk, brag about their prowess and have a brawl, not necessarily in that order. It was far removed from his idea of having a good time. The only positive thing he could see in his situation was that there weren't more people around. Thanks to Hitsugaya's low popularity in the Eleventh the only people Yumichika managed to gather were his best friend Ikkaku and his student and Toushirou's old classmate Renji.

"Don't be a spoilsport, Shirou-chan," Abarai prompted.

"I said no. I'm too young to drink anyway. And don't call me Shirou-chan."

"Nonsense," Madarame shook his head forcefully. "You're old enough to carry a sword, so you're old enough to drink."

"That doesn't mean I have to." Hitsugaya punctuated his words with a threatening scowl, which had next to no effect on the Sixth Seat.

"Tradition says you have to," Ayasegawa reminded.

"No, no and no. Is that clear enough or do I have to repeat it?"

Yumichika sighed theatrically. "It seems like we aren't going to convince him"

"I'm so glad you finally got it," Toushirou grumbled.

"In that case," the beautiful man continued, "there is only one thing we can do. I hoped we wouldn't have to resort to this, but you are giving us no choice." The white-haired boy suddenly had a bad feeling about this. He debated whether he should run for it, but before he could decide, he felt strong hands grabbing him, holding him in place. He tried to free himself, but Yumichika held fast. Renji and Ikkaku got identical sadistic grins on their faces. Hitsugaya's bad feeling intensified.

Ikkaku lifted the sake cup off the table.

"Hold his nose, I'm going to pour it into his mouth," he told Abarai. The redhead nodded enthusiastically and set on his assigned task. Toushirou tried to bite his fingers, but failed. Renji grabbed his nose and grinned victoriously.

"Gotcha!" Hitsugaya glared murder at him but it only served to amuse the carrot top further. Soon he found himself out of breath. He had to open his mouth and that was what Ikkaku had been waiting for. He pushed the cup to Hitsugaya's lips and poured. The boy did his best to spill it, wetting his Shihakushou with the liquid, but some of the alcohol ended up in his mouth nevertheless. The Sixth Seat then held his mouth shut, making him swallow. And then he poured another cup.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya groaned. His head hurt and pounded like there were two Hollows fighting inside. He wished he could just fall back asleep, but the headache wouldn't let him. He lay motionlessly for several minutes, waiting for it to subside. When he realized it wasn't happening, he gave up and opened his eyes. And closed them again immediately. The light was just too bright it hurt them. He waited for another minute before opening them again.

He took in his surroundings, trying to determine where he was and how he got there. The where was easy enough. He was on his futon in his room in the Eleventh Division barracks. But as for how did he get there and why was his head pounding, he drew a blank. He sat up carefully, for the first time noticing the state of his clothes. He was still dressed in his shihakushou, which was rumpled, sticky and smelled of sake. Ah, that jolted his memory. Ayasegawa had dragged him to 'celebrate' his first victory over a Hollow. And then he and his ingrate friends force-fed him the cursed alcohol. The pain in his head must be hangover then.

He wracked his brain, trying to remember every tidbit of information he learned during his time in the Fourth. Just what was the cure for hangovers? His brain didn't feel like cooperating, but he eventually recalled the answer. There was some mixture for it; unfortunately he had never learned its contents. He would have to drag himself all the way to the Fourth if he wanted some. But first he had to make himself presentable.

He stood up and for the first time that morning caught the sight of the courtyard. He blinked in surprise. It was covered in snow, the sunlight reflecting off the small ice crystals piercing his eyes painfully. _No wonder it is so bright, _he mused. _But isn't it too early for snow yet? And there's so much of it. _He had never seen so much snow in Rukongai.

He stumbled to the door and slid them open. Only now he could fully appreciate the sight. The snow was piled almost as tall as he was, sparkling in the bright noon sun, several walls had huge holes in them and in the middle of the courtyard Yachiru was running around, making snowballs and hurling them at anybody who came in the vicinity.

"Hi, Snowy-chan!" She waved when she spotted him. "Thanks for the snow!" she exclaimed and pelted him in the face with a snowball. _Thanks for the snow? Just what does she mean by that? _And then the memory hit him.

_He stood in the middle of the courtyard, Hyourinmaru in his hand__. Snow was falling heavily as he waved the released weapon around._

"_And then it came at me and I dodged and then I attacked it like this," a dragon of ice flew from his blade, destroying the wall separating the courtyard from the closest training grounds, "and it blocked it with that white goo and I attacked it again," this time the roof on the barracks was hit, "but it dodged and I shunpoed after it," he moved to the other end of the courtyard, and I fired the Soukatsui at it," somebody's window shattered under the blue flames, "but it blocked again, so I…"_

Hitsugaya shuddered when he remembered it. Was he really so drunk that he accompanied his retelling of the battle with all the proper effects? He wanted to deny it, but the proof lay in front of him in the form of the wrecked courtyard. _I'm never drinking again,_ he swore. _No matter what the people say or do, I'm not touching sake ever again. And I'm going to kill Ayasegawa. And Abarai and Madarame too._

He shook his head to clear it. It turned out to be a mistake, because the pain intensified. He was snapped out of it by another snowball to his face. Yachiru wanted to play and it was unwise to deny her. But he was too sick and he still didn't sort through all his memories of the previous evening. Why did he start retelling his battle and how did it end? Even if destruction was omnipresent in the Eleventh Division, such level of it attracted attention. So what had happened next?

"_Catch him already!" __Ayasegawa's voice sounded from nearby._

"_I'm trying," Renji answered. "I can't see anything in this snow!"_

"_Sissy," Madarame scoffed. "And you call yourself a member of the Eleventh. Let me show you how real men do it!" He started after the wildly dancing boy, but was forced to dodge a wildly flying Shakkahou and then realized that his target had disappeared. While he was looking for him, an ice dragon came flying by, nicking him and knocking him down in the snow. Yumichika laughed merrily._

"_The Sixth Seat owned by a little kid? That's priceless!"_

"_Watch it," the bald man growled. "I'm going to take that brat down. Grow, Houzukimaru!" _

"_Using shikai on a child?" Yumichika raised one perfectly trimmed eyebrow. "That isn't beautiful."_

"_Shut up," Madarame growled, proceeding with the pursuit of his elusive target. But even his shikai couldn't help with the fact that he had trouble seeing and moving around in the snow while his target suffered no such difficulties. He disappeared with a shunpo every time Ikkaku got close._

Oh yes, they had a lot of trouble catching him. They kept slipping on the ice while he flashed between them. The commotion had attracted quite a lot people and a crowd had gathered around, some of them joining in the chase. Yet they were unable to capture the white-haired child. It wasn't until Momo bound him in Bakudou #9: Hourin that he was finally subdued. Wait, what was Momo doing there? He strained his brain until he finally found the right memory.

_They were sitting around the table in the cantina, Renji was boasting about his accomplishments, Ikkaku was correcting his story and Yumichika was adding the occasional comments about beauty.__ It looked like they had forgotten all about Toushirou and the heroic tale he was supposed to tell them. It would have been a good time to slip away, but he didn't feel like it. He felt pleasantly warm and happy. He didn't want to stand up. He wasn't sure he'd be able to stay upright when the whole room was swaying. He was content with just sitting there and listening to their bickering._

"_Here you are, Abarai-kun," a familiar voice sounded nearby. He couldn't see the person talking over Madarame's bulk. He knew the speaker, now if he could just remember who it was._

"_Momo-kun!" Renji called merrily. Oh, so it was Hinamori. He couldn't understand how he didn't recognize her before._

"_Hi, Bed-Wetter," he called cheerfully._

"_Bed-Wetter?" Ikkaku repeated and collapsed in a fit of laughter._

"_It's ugly to call a beautiful girl by such an ugly nickname," Yumichika chastised him. Momo finally noticed him and frowned._

"_Shirou-chan? What are you doing here?"_

"_Sitting here," he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Honestly, why did she even ask? She could see for herself, couldn't she?_

"_I can see that. I mean: what are you doing at the Eleventh? Is somebody hurt?"_

"_No," he shook his head, which caused the room to spin wildly. "Why do you ask?"_

"_Then what are you doing here?" she demanded._

"_I am here," he replied. To him, it made perfect sense._

"_I can see that," she scowled. "But why are you here? Why aren't you with your division?"_

"_I'm am with my division." Honestly. Couldn't she see that?_

"_That's not funny," she folded her arms. "But then, your jokes usually aren't funny."_

"'_s not true, Bed-Wetter!" he protested._

"_That's what you think," she scoffed. "And now finally tell me: why aren't you at the Fourth?"_

"'_cause I'm here."_

"_But why are you here?" Momo was getting increasingly frustrated._

"_Because." Hitsugaya was getting increasingly frustrated trying to explain it to her._

"_Now seriously, Shirou-chan. Why are you here? And are you drunk?"_

"_No!" Toushirou denied just as Ayasegawa asked:_

"_What was your first clue?"_

"_I can't believe you," Hinamori threw her arms in the air. "I leave you alone for a while and you go to the Eleventh and get drunk with the local thugs! What would Granny say if she could see you now?" Toushirou paled. What would Granny say? He'd rather not find out. That wasn't missed by the other occupants of the table._

"_Is the widdle boy afraid of his granny?" Madarame taunted._

"_No!" Hitsugaya lied._

"_He is scared!" Renji called with glee. "Run back to mommy, kiddo!"_

"_Take that back!" the white-haired boy demanded, his face scrunched in anger._

"_No," the redhead grinned. Toushirou reached for his sword. He never made it, because a small fist impacted with his forearm._

"_Enough!" Hinamori commanded. Her reiatsu rose, making her look like some ancient war goddess. "I'm ashamed of you, Toushirou. You have no business drinking with the goons from the Eleventh, And you, Abarai, why didn't you stop him? I thought better of you."_

"_He made me drink!" Hitsugaya pointed at the tattooed youth._

"_Is that so?" Hinamori turned to Renji, her eyes glaring murder._

"_It's tradition," the pineapple-head defended himself._

"_So it's tradition to get little children drunk?__" She looked scandalized. "I came to see how you were doing in the Eleventh, Abarai-kun, but now I see it has turned you into a complete pig."_

"'_m not little child!" Toushirou protested._

"_That's true," Yumichika confirmed. "He's a proud member of the Eleventh now."_

"_What?" Momo blinked in surprise. "That's not funny."_

"_It's true," Ikkaku nodded. Renji did so._

"_That's what I've been telling you all the time!" Hitsugaya added._

"_You really were transferred to the Eleventh, weren't you?" she questioned._

"_Tha's what I'm saying," the boy nodded._

"_Why didn't you tell me, Shirou-chan?" She sounded hurt._

"_Don't call me that! And I've been telling you whole evenin'."_

"_I mean, why didn't you tell me earlier? How long have you been here?"_

"_Uhm... a month?" He couldn't really remember, but it couldn't have been much longer._

"_A month?" Momo sounded like she couldn't believe her ears. "And I find out now? Why didn't you tell me? Aren't we friends anymore?"_

"_We are," he answered._

"_Then why didn't you tell me? And why did you transfer anyway? You were safe in the Fourth."_

"_Didn't like it there."_

"_That's not a reason," she scowled._

"_That's is a reason," he insisted. Yamada Seinosuke was reason enough._

"_It's dangerous," she pointed out._

"_You're the one who got hurt," he reminded her._

"_That's irrelevant. It's dangerous here and they are obviously bad influence on you." She grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. "Let's get you out of here. We can fill your transfer paperwork into the Fifth tomorrow. I'm sure Aizen-taichou would have no problem with it." She said that name again. In Toushirou's inebriated mind, it had the same effect as showing a red mullet to a bull. He freed his arm from Hinamori's grasp._

"_Am not going anywhere!"_

"_Be reasonable," she scowled, grabbing him again, dragging him outside._

"_No! Am not going anywhere! And not to that Aizen! Never! I like it here!" It wasn't exactly the truth, but there was no reason telling Momo that._

"_Don't start again!" she scolded. "What do you have against Aizen-taichou?"_

"_Don't like him!" Wasn't that reason enough?_

"_You're childish," she stated._

"_No. You are."_

"_Children," Yumichika chuckled, shaking his head. He and his friends followed the pair of childhood friends._

"_Honestly, Shirou-chan, do you want to get killed? The Eleventh goes to the toughest battles!"_

"_Because we are the best!" Toushirou proclaimed._

"_Spoken like a true Eleventh Divisioner," Ayasegawa praised him ruffling his hair. Hitsugaya grinned happily. "And you," he turned to Momo, "shouldn't you trust your friend to be able to decide for himself? He's a shinigami, not a child, you know?"_

"_He is a child," she stated. Then she turned to the young prodigy. "Think about it for a moment, Toushirou!" Hinamori pleaded. "You're just a child! You can't take all they do!"_

"_I can!" he insisted._

"_No, you can't," she insisted._

"_I can!"_

"_You can't!"_

"_I can! I killed a Hollow!"_

"_So?" she raised an eyebrow skeptically._

"_It was a giant Hollow!"_

"_Really?"_

"_Yes! It was as big as three houses on top of each other! And it was long too."_

"_Don't exaggerate," Hinamori chided._

"_He isn't," Yumichika defended him. "It really was that big and powerful too. And he took on it all by himself. That's what we are celebrating today."_

"_Yes! It wanted to scare me, but I wasn't scared! I said 'Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru' and attacked it..." the roof of the cantina was destroyed, "and it dodged..."_

"_Shirou-chan! Stop it!" Hinamori yelled in panic. He ignored her._

"_...and I attacked it again and it..."_

Oh yes, he remembered perfectly now. That was how yesterday's fiasco had begun. He groaned and buried his face in his hands, narrowly dodging another snowball. He had been drunk out of his mind and Hinamori saw him in that state. By this time, Granny probably already knew about it. He tried not to think about what she was going to tell him the next time he'd come visit.

"So you are awake finally," Ayasegawa's too cheerful voice entered his reverie. Hitsugaya looked at him. The man looked just as impeccable and cheerful as ever. There was no sign of hangover to be seen. How was he doing that?

"Yes," he answered in a tone indicating that he rather wouldn't be.

"Don't speak in such tone, it isn't beautiful." Hitsugaya growled in answer. He really wasn't in the mood for talk about beauty.

"Is this your first hangover?" Yumichika asked. Toushirou nodded. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Eventually." If the comment was meant to lift his spirit, it failed miserably.

"Momo wants me to transfer," he said.

"So I've noticed. But don't worry. She can't make you. Well, unless you want to transfer. Do you?"

Hitsugaya thought about it. Did he want to transfer? He had entered the Eleventh with the intention that he'll eventually transfer out, but the Fifth? He didn't want to get there either. But on one hand, there was the scorn and bullying from the other members of the Eleventh and the danger of the most difficult missions. On the other hand, there was a perfectly normal division, he'll be together with his childhood friend, watch her moon over the oh-so-perfect Aizen-taichou, deal with her patronizing and threats of invoking Granny's ire. And he also won't be able to beat up the people who looked down at him, even if they were weaker than him. When he looked at it from this perspective, his decision was made.

"I'll stay in the Eleventh. At least for now."


	7. Sticking out

**Author's note:** So after a long struggle, chapter 7 is finished and presentable. I apologize it took so long, but some of the scenes just didn't want to be written. as some of you might have noticed, I finally uploaded the illustration for the last chapter. I'm going to post teh illustration for this one right after I scan it. Both will be on my DA profile, link on my profile page. Those of you who read this far should already know the drill.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach.

**On the Frozen Plain**** – Sticking out**

.*****************************************************************************************.

Things changed after The Incident That Shall Not Be Mentioned Again. Hitsugaya thought that he would get in trouble for causing so much damage, but it was brushed aside completely. As Ayasegawa told him, destruction was an integral part of the Eleventh and he should have seen the carnage after the last division party. This was nothing in comparison. Hitsugaya still wasn't convinced everything was alright, but decided to believe him.

The most notable change was that most of his colleagues now accepted him as the member of the Eleventh. He was still widely unpopular among his peers, but at least he wasn't left out on their missions. He still wasn't assigned command of anything, but he got to fight real Hollows now. He was usually stuck with the weakest one, but it still was a step up from the previous state of things. As his training was progressing, his peers had to notice and he was sure that his status would improve again in not so distant future.

Hinamori also showed up, bringing papers for his transfer, all filled in, the only thing he needed to was to sign them. He refused. She said he was stupid and tried to convince him. He refused again. She called him a brat. He called her stupid bed-wetter. They ended up arguing and Momo ran away in tears. Hitsugaya felt bad for it, but there was no way he was going to move to the Fifth. He tried apologizing to his friend, but it came out wrong and he made her cry again. That made Abarai want to avenge his friend and challenge him often. By that time, Hitsugaya's skills increased enough that he had no trouble defeating the redhead's shikai with just a sealed sword. Renji hated the fact, but no matter how he trained, he couldn't change it.

About two months after That Incident, Ayasegawa called him to stay behind after the division training.

"I have an assignment for you," he announced looking even more smug than usual.

"Again?" Hitsugaya's eyes widened in shock. Was he going to be thrown to a giant Hollow again? He shouldn't be so scared, he had won the last time and he had improved since then. Or did Yumichika find a Menos? He wouldn't put it past him.

"Relax," the Seventh Seat smiled, noticing his discomfort. "This time, I'm not going with you." Toushirou wasn't sure whether he should feel relieved or not. "I think you are going to like it." _I doubt it, _Hitsugaya thought. There was something about Ayasegawa's smirk that was rubbing him the wrong way. "You'd better do, considering how much time I spent finding the perfect mission for you." _Yep, I'm definitely not going to like it. _"You'll be stationed in the Living World, protecting Area #8456 for the duration of a month."

_Hey, that doesn't sound bad, _Hitsugaya thought. _So where's the catch? _Because Yumichika's face made it clear that there was one.

"You'll be leaving tomorrow morning, so you should pack your things now," the Seventh Seat advised him.

"Is Snowy going away?" Yachiru asked appearing out of nowhere and landing on Toushirou's head.

"It's just for a month," Hitsugaya said, covering his wince. Yachiru didn't look that part, but she was heavy.

"I won't be seeing Snowy for a whole month?" the girl asked.

"That's correct," Yumichika said.

"Then I have to play with him before he leaves!" the pinkette decided and dragged her victim off. Hitsugaya could only wonder whether she'll let him pack before he'd have to leave.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_Sometimes I wish I were wrong, _Hitsugaya thought miserably. His instincts that there was a catch in his assignment had unfortunately proven to be correct. He realized it the moment he stepped out of the Senkaimon.

His first impression was heat. Unbearable, scorching heat. It was worse than the hottest days in the Soul Society. Much, much worse. It was so bad, that for a moment he thought he stepped into a fire. But he quickly realized that it was not so. There was no fire around, only sand, dust and rocks. Sand, dust and rocks were all he could see around. And also the sun shining brightly from a cloudless sky. And that led to the realization of the second reason why this assignment sucked: he was in the middle of a desert. And he was stuck here for a whole month. He wished a Hollow would appear so he had something to vent his anger on. He would prefer if Ayasegawa appeared, but that wasn't likely to happen.

_Damn you, _he thought. Yumichika knew exactly what place on Earth he would hate the most. He knew that he couldn't stand heat and that he needed water for his shikai. And he deliberately sent him to a place where he would be barely able to walk without fainting from the heat, much less fight. Was he really trying to kill him?

"_**Don't be so down, child," **_his zanpakutou tried to cheer him.

"_Hyourinmaru?__" _Hitsugaya replied weakly. _"I thought you would complain more. You must hate this place even more then I do."_

"_**That's correct,**__**" **_the ice dragon admitted, _**"but that isn't a reason for despair."**_

"_I know,__" _Hitsugaya sighed, _"but it is a reason to kill Ayasegawa once we get back."_

"_**Well, he probably did this to force us to fight the Eleventh Division way, but we can use it to our advantage."**_

"_How?"_ the boy questioned.

"_**You can**__** learn to use our shikai better,"**_ Hyourinmaru suggested.

"_How can I use it here?__" _Toushirou didn't understand. _"There's no water around."_

"_**That's incorrect, little one. Water is everywhere. It's just a matter of finding it. Can't you do it?"**_

Hitsugaya opened his eyes and looked around. There certainly didn't seem to be water around. There wasn't a single plant in sight, not even a cloud on the clear blue sky. Then he closed his eyes again and tried to feel for the water. It was faint, but it was there. Traces of vapor in the air. A lone cactus he couldn't see behind a hill. And when he stretched his senses to the max, he could even feel water deep, deep underground.

"_**See what I mean?" **_Hyourinmaru asked.

"_Yes,__" _Hitsugaya replied with a small smile. His situation suddenly looked much better than it did a minute before.

"_**And now you can find it, you can learn to draw on it. Consider it a handicap training. If you can make my attack**__**s here as strong as they are in Soul Society, can you imagine how strong they would be once we return?"**_

Hitsugaya didn't answer. He imagined. He pictured swinging his blade, sending an ice dragon at Ayasegawa and slamming him into a wall. The image brought a smile to his lips.

"_Yes," _he said finally.

"_**I'm glad you see it my way,"**_Hyourinmaru nodded contently. _**"So let's just start training, you have only a month for it."**_

"_Yes, let's start. And don't worry, Hyourinmaru, when I'm finished, I'll be a__ble to cover this desert in ice," _he boasted.

"_**Those are some big words," **_the dragon replied. _**"You'd rather make sure you can back them up before I melt from the heat."**_

.*****************************************************************************************.

Over the next couple of days, Hitsugaya explored his assigned area. It was much bigger than the areas usually assigned to shinigami, but it was also nearly completely empty. The only thing resembling human settlement he could find was a long-abandoned nomad camp. He couldn't even tell which tribe did it belong to, nobody bothered to tell him which desert he was stuck in. He wasn't even sure which continent it was.

The only thing that required his shinigami powers during those days was the Soul Burial of the ghost of a lone traveler, who had died there a few years ago. He was wandering around a heap of bleached bones, bound by his Chain of Fate to a big package and wailed how he was going to sell it for huge profit, if he could just get it to the client in time. And all the time the hole in his chest was slowly opening. Hitsugaya performed the Konsou quickly, just because he didn't want to listen to him any longer than he absolutely had to. After that he was completely alone with no living being in sight, making him wonder whether the demi-Hollow's wailing wasn't preferable to the crushing silence.

The lack of real work gave him plenty of time to train. Because he felt like keeling over during the day, he decided to train at night. Hyourinmaru berated him for making it easier for himself, but it sounded half-hearted. The dragon hated the heat even more than Toushirou did.

The training itself was going fairly well. At first, Hitsugaya had trouble gathering enough water to form one of his attacks and they came off as too small and weak, but then he learned to gather the water from a bigger area, making them almost as powerful as they used to be in the Soul Society. The downside was that they took much longer to form. When he pointed out to Hyourinmaru, the dragon had only one piece of advice to offer:

"_**Practice, practice, practice."**_And Hitsugaya did that and it showed results, though they were slow.

Another side-effect of his training was that his reiatsu attracted Hollows. Hitsugaya didn't mind; he considered it an opportunity to test his newly acquired skills and also a welcome break of his routine. Otherwise he would have probably died of boredom. Though, there was one close call when he attracted three Hollows at once and two of them happened to be powerful and with special abilities utilizing the desert surroundings. Hitsugaya had to strain his skills to the max just to survive. He got an idea how did his opponents feel during his snowstorms when one of them created a sandstorm. He couldn't see anything and he had trouble breathing too. And there was no escaping it. Even when he tried to shunpo away, the Hollow followed him. But at least it served to separate them. He ran far enough to create sufficient distance between his three opponents. Then he quickly returned to where the weakest, slowest Hollow lagged behind and purified it in one strike. Then he managed to put up a Kidou barrier before the sand-wielding Hollow could return, gaining some breathing space. The two remaining Hollows paced outside his barrier, both trying to break it in their own ways, one of them with the sandstorm and its claws, the second one with fire and its whip-like protrusions. Toushirou could see that his barrier wouldn't hold them at bay for long, but he hoped it would give him enough time for a full incantation. Bakudou #61: Rikujoukourou was the strongest he could cast flawlessly and it had the advantage of having a short incantation. He finished the last words just as his barrier finally shattered. He trapped the sand-wielding Hollow in the six rods of light and then purified it easily when it couldn't move. Once the storm died down, dealing with the last Hollow was easy. It might have been the most powerful one, but that didn't help it any. It wasn't more powerful than Hitsugaya. The boy just needed a few seconds to summon enough water for his signature attack and then used it to smash the Hollow's mask to pieces, its flames and tentacles doing nothing to prevent it.

After that, Toushirou collapsed to his knees and panted heavily. This fight had taken a lot out of him.

"_**You won," **_Hyourinmaru tried to cheer him up. _**"There's nothing to feel down about."**_

"_It was a close call,"_Hitsugaya pointed out. _"If I could use your power the same way as in Soul Society, it would have been much easier. But there just isn't enough water here."_

"_**There is a way around it,"**_ the dragon replied after a moment of thought.

"_Really?" _the boy asked with interest. _"What is it?"_

"_**I can create water and use it in my attacks," **_the zanpakutou spirit explained, _**"but it takes a lot of power. Many times more than using the water that is already there. I don't think you're ready to learn it yet."**_

"_Really? But it__ would have come in handy today," _Toushirou pointed out.

"_**Or it would have left you in**__** a trembling heap on the ground, too weak to stand," **_Hyourinmaru retorted. _**"Now that would be inconvenient, wouldn't it?"**_

"_It would,"_ Hitsugaya agreed.

"_**So just continue your training like you did before**__**," **_the dragon suggested. _**"If you complete it, we might talk again about teaching you this."**_

"_Okay."_

.*****************************************************************************************.

When there was a little over a week remaining of his assignment, he saw the first living people in the area. They were a small tribe of nomads travelling through the outskirts of his assigned territory. It was a welcome break from his routine for Hitsugaya. Despite always being more of a solitary person, the complete lack of any human company was hard to bear. He decided to stick to them, not caring that they couldn't see him or that he couldn't understand the language they were speaking. Therefore when one old lady started suddenly shouting and pointing, he couldn't figure what it was about. There was nothing unusual around, only sand, sand and more sand everywhere. _Maybe the heat got to her, _was what he thought before she punched him.

Taken completely off guard, he fell to the ground. The old lady stood above him, screaming and pointing some more. Now there was no more doubt: she was shouting at him.

"You can see me?" he asked stupidly. He was taught that living humans couldn't see him. He had read about spiritually aware ones, but the book said that they were so rare that the chances of ever encountering one were next to nil. Then the old lady kicked him. He rolled on the ground before jumping to his feet.

"What was that for?" he shouted angrily. The hag shouted back something unintelligible. "What kind of manners do you have, kicking random people?" The old woman didn't understand a word of his rant and proceeded screaming bloody murder. That rankled Hitsugaya into screaming back. The spectacle was gathering onlookers. Soon, nearly the whole tribe stood around, watching the granny argue with thin air or trying to see what she was seeing.

Then the old lady picked up a stone and threw it at him. Hitsugaya dodged. "What are you doing?" he screamed. In the next instant, he was forced to dodge another projectile. And then the tribesmen joined in. Most of their shots went wide, because they couldn't see what they were aiming at, but too many of them went too close for comfort. Hitsugaya for a moment considered releasing Hyourinmaru on the bunch of idiots, but realized it would get him in too much trouble to be worth it, so he retreated. Unbeknownst to him, the crazy old lady got hailed by her folks by exorcising an evil spirit.

The boy decided not to come close to the camp again, but during the night, a Hollow appeared, heading for the tent with the old woman. Hitsugaya quickly arrived and purified it. As he watched the rather weak Hollow dissolve into spirit particles, he heard a shout from behind and a stone whistling next to his ear. He turned around. The old woman had been awoken by the commotion and came to chase him away again. And her racket was waking the other nomads.

"Stupid woman," Hitsugaya admonished her. "Can't you see I saved you?" She couldn't. She couldn't even understand him. So she just threw another stone. The boy just sighed and shunpoed away. He hoped he wouldn't have to rescue the ungrateful old hag again.

He didn't. The nomads packed their camp and moved out of his assigned area the next day, becoming someone else's problem and leaving Hitsugaya completely alone in the desert again. He could return to his training and fighting the Hollows his reiatsu attracted. It was fine with him. But still he waited impatiently for the day when he would be allowed to go home.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He never felt more relieved to return to Seireitei. After a month in the scorching desert the cool, moist air of the Soul Society felt like heaven to him. He fell to his knees and kissed the ground the moment he walked through the Senkaimon, uncaring that the guards were looking at him oddly.

"Hey, kid, are you alright?" one of them asked worriedly.

"Yes," Hitsugaya replied, for a moment interrupting his 'kissing the ground' routine.

"Are you sure?" the man questioned. "We can call the Fourth..."

"That isn't necessary," the boy insisted.

"The last guy who insisted it wasn't necessary collapsed after five steps," the guardsman pointed out.

"Well, I'm not him and I'm quite alright," Toushirou retorted, annoyance creeping into his voice. He wanted to keep kissing the ground in peace and the two morons wouldn't let him.

"I think we should call them," the second guard joined the conversation. "He's clearly delusional."

"I tell you I'm al..."

"Snowie!" Yachiru's merry shriek interrupted his answer as the little girl landed on his head, nearly breaking his neck. It was the rare occasion when the pink-haired fukutaichou found a spot perfectly and on time. Or maybe she was heading somewhere else and ran into him by accident. Hitsugaya grimaced. In his joy over being home he completely forgot what company awaited him here. But even as the pinkette dragged him off to play, leaving behind two baffled guards, he noticed the clouds gathering on the horizon. It looked like rain. Toushirou smiled. No matter what his division mates would inflict on him, it was good to be home.

.*****************************************************************************************.

As soon as he could get away, which was pretty late in the night, he headed for the training grounds. He couldn't wait to see the results of his training. He made sure he was alone there before unsheathing his sword.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru," he commanded. The blade lengthened a bit, the chain-and sickle extension appeared on the hilt and the sky became overcast with heavy clouds. Hitsugaya smiled. It didn't use to cause this unless he specifically wished for it. He swung his zanpakutou, pushing his reiatsu into his signature attack. The ice dragon formed bigger and quicker than it used to. Toushirou sent it flying. It rushed forward faster and crashed into a nearby hill. It plowed a deep and long gash in the soil and when it finally stopped, the impact site was surrounded by newly formed ice.

"_Wow,"_ Hitsugaya thought wide-eyed, _"you were right, Hyourinmaru. The training really did wonders."_

"_**Of course,"**_ the dragon chuckled smugly. _**"Did you ever doubt it?"**_

"_I didn't expect such results."_

"_**You should have m**__**ore faith in me and in yourself," **_Hyourinmaru stated. _**"And now you got this far, do you think you can form two attacks at once?"**_

"_Well," _Toushirou thought about the answer, _"there is only one way to find out."_

He swung his sword again, this time concentrating on letting the power flow in two different directions. Two dragons formed, but they were much smaller and less detailed than when he used just one. They reminded him of his earliest attempts on using his shikai.

The dragons took flight and Hitsugaya realized that one was heading right towards a small tree. (There were no big trees on the Eleventh's training grounds; they got cut down in the heat of battle before they had the chance to grow.) Hitsugaya concentrated on changing its course so it missed the tree, but he lost control of the second dragon. It flew into a straight line until it crashed into a wall. Fortunately his lack of attention decreased the power of the attack so much the wall withstood it.

"_This is harder than I thought," _the white-haired boy commented.

"_**It will get easier once you get the hang of it,"**_ Hyourinmaru assured him. _**"And once you can split your concentration, you can use even more of the dragons. It's just a matter of time."**_

"_How much time?" _Toushirou just had to ask.

"_**That depends on you."**_

"_And whether the local idiots let me train in peace," _the boy added sarcastically.

"_**Well, that too."**_

.*****************************************************************************************.

Months passed without anything noteworthy happening. Hollows appeared and the Eleventh was dispatched to take care of them. Hitsugaya continued his training and his abilities improved. His standing in the Eleventh did not, because of his shikai. Hitsugaya didn't really mind, thinking that most of them were morons. He wondered whether he should try to transfer now, but then he lost one sparring match badly and realized that there was still a lot for him to learn about the way of the sword. So he postponed his attempt to get into a sane division.

A change occurred among the upper seats of their division. Madarame Ikkaku challenged Oda to a duel and defeated him. That earned the bald man the position of the Fifth Seat and Oda was demoted to the Sixth. To get back at Madarame, Oda challenged his best friend Ayasegawa and was defeated after a long and draining match. That caused his degradation to the Seventh Seat while Yumichika became the Sixth. He was very smug about it, saying that six was a more beautiful number than seven. Nobody else understood his reasoning.

Needless to say, Oda was very unhappy about that, but he couldn't regain his position. Whenever he tried a rematch, he got defeated again, and every time with greater ease. It made him bitter and quick to lash at anyone under him. Hitsugaya was his favorite target, because there was nobody who would come after Oda on his behalf. The boy learned to avoid the Seventh Seat quickly, but he wasn't always so lucky. But unlike their first duel, now Hitsugaya could hold his own for much longer. When he used his shikai, he even managed to wound the man, even if he ended up losing in the end. Oda, for all his arrogance, realized it too. He didn't challenge Hitsugaya after that again, worried that he might end up losing the next fight.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He was sent on a mission to the Living World again and it was exactly the same place like before. He wondered why did Ayasegawa do it. Did he believe it would make him use only kenjutsu? Or did he realize how did the conditions help in Hitsugaya's training and did it to help him? Toushirou had no idea. Despite the apparent shallowness of the man, it was nearly impossible to gauge what he was really thinking.

He was completely alone there this time. Nothing changed in almost a year since he visited the place. No soul needed a Konsou and even the nomads didn't show up again. Which was perfectly fine with Hitsugaya. He had no desire to repeat his run-in with the old hag. He could devote all his time to training creating ice out of nothing and fighting the Hollows his reiatsu lured. If the heat wasn't so oppressive, he would have enjoyed his stay there. When the month-long assignment finally ended, he was almost reluctant to return. He still needed to improve his technique a lot, though he finally got the hang on how it was done. Yet when he stepped through the Senkaimon into the heavenly cool and moist air of Soul Society, it was all he could do not to kiss the ground again. The guards today might not be as understanding as the last pair and drag him to the Fourth kicking and screaming.

So with using most of his willpower, he walked stoically to the Eleventh's barracks, survived Yachiru's enthusiastic greeting, his squadmates' sneers, and waited for an opportunity to test his new skills. It was all he expected. Creating his ice dragons was easier than before and they had more power. The ice spreading from the place of their impact was thicker and covered more area. And even when he launched two dragons at once, they weren't weak anymore. Hitsugaya was very pleased, but Hyourinmaru reminded him that he still had a lot to learn, if he ever wanted to use more of his abilities than just the bare basics.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Shortly after, he was stopped by Kenpachi after the division training session. He swallowed nervously. It was a long time since the captain last acknowledged him and now he singled him out. What could it mean?

"Kid," Zaraki began, "Why don't you fight like the Eleventh does?" Ah, so that was it.

"I fight the way best suited for me," Hitsugaya replied.

"That's no real way to fight," Kenpachi scoffed. "That's for the weak." He drew his jagged zanpakutou and waved it in the air. "That's how a real man fights. With his strength alone."

"That's your way," Toushirou answered diplomatically. "It's different from mine."

"That's the way of the Eleventh, boy," the scarred man replied. "Either follow it or leave. If it was anyone else, I would have kicked him out a long time ago."

"Then why didn't you?" Hitsugaya questioned. Instead of an answer, Yachiru appeared and jumped at his back.

"I want to play with Snowie!" she singsonged.

"She likes you," Kenpachi explained. "That's the only reason I kept you around for so long. But I can't tolerate it for much longer. Either live by our way or leave."

"Don't make Snowie leave," Yachiru whined.

"I can't do that," Toushirou shook his head. "I can behave during official training, but don't want me to stop using my shikai. I simply cannot do that."

"Why?" Zaraki questioned. "You don't really need it. You are plenty strong already and will get even stronger. You can win your fights with swordsmanship alone. You don't need to use shikai to win. And it would spare you lots of trouble with your comrades."

"It isn't a matter of strength," Hitsugaya answered. "Hyourinmaru is a part of me. Not using him... that would be like cutting off an arm. Even if I don't need his power to win a battle, I still need to release it regularly for practice. Otherwise I might lose control over it. And I don't care what others think. I don't let them dictate my life. If they have a problem with me, I'm always ready to demonstrate the advantages of my methods."

"That was a good speech," Kenpachi chuckled, nodding approvingly. "You're strong, I like that. I want to fight you once you grow up. I don't like fighting children." Now Hitsugaya didn't know whether he should feel honored or insulted. "But remember what I said. You can't stay in the Eleventh if you don't change." And then Kenpachi turned and walked away, obviously considering the conversation over.

"Don't leave, Snowie," Yachiru pleaded in an uncharacteristically serious tone. But she quickly switched to her usual cheerful one. "Let's play!" And she steered Toushirou through the division grounds, making him quickly forget about the captain's warning.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"There's something that bothers me about this mission," Hitsugaya said as they walked towards their destination. It was about a month after his talk with Kenpachi. The landscape around them was peaceful, the sky clear blue, forests deep green and the meadows blooming with the flowers of high spring, prompting the people seeing them to forget all their worries and enjoy the beauty, but the boy couldn't dismiss his worries.

"What is there to be bothered about?" Renji shrugged. He was now the Twelfth Seat and the promotion was getting to his head. "We go there, purify the Hollow, we go back home."

"I wish it were that easy," the white-haired boy sighed. "No matter how I think about it, this isn't going to be that kind of easy mission."

"You worry too much," Abarai berated him. "Whatever the problem is, we can beat it. That's what the Eleventh is best at. Isn't it so?"

"Of course!" everybody in their unit answered.

"See?" the carrot top grinned victoriously. "The Hollow has no chance. It might have gotten the wimps from the Third, but it won't be able to touch the elite of the Eleventh!"

"If it was just about brawns, then no," Toushirou said. The unit was indeed impressive in strength. It was lead by Fourth Seat Iba, because the command decided that this mission didn't require the presence of a captain and their Third Seat was currently incapacitated after a sparring match with Kenpachi. No-one ever considered giving Yachiru command over anything. The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Seats were there as well, each of them leading a unit of shinigami of their own choosing. Any Hollow below Menos level would be completely obliterated by them and even a Menos should be wary of challenging them. "But I'm afraid it's going to be more complicated than that."

"If you're scared, go back to the Fourth," Oda advised him. Hitsugaya's narrowed and his hand twitched towards the hilt of his zanpakutou.

"I'm not afraid," he corrected. "I merely advise caution."

"What's the difference?" the Seventh Seat scoffed.

"That's not the way of the Eleventh," Ikkaku pointed out.

"Don't I know it," Hitsugaya sighed. "But can you at least listen to what I have to say?"

"It's not like we have anything better to do," Iba shrugged.

"The Hollow we're after is tricky," the white-haired prodigy explained. "It has killed several seasoned shinigami without their partners realizing something was amiss."

"It did?" Renji asked.

"Yes," Toushirou confirmed. "It was clearly said so in the mission directions. Did you even read them?"

"Uh..." Abarai looked mildly embarrassed.

"You didn't," the boy stated disapprovingly. "So let me recap it for you. Souls began disappearing from the 45th district of West Rukongai. Third Division was sent to investigate, but either they didn't find anything or they disappeared without a trace too. They sent tougher guys, with the same result. When even their Third Seat went missing, they decided to call for reinforcements."

"Yes. They couldn't do anything on their own so they called the Eleventh," Abarai smirked, his confidence returning.

"Don't joke about it," Hitsugaya berated him. "Didn't you notice anything strange in the report?"

"No," Renji shook his head. Toushirou sighed in exasperation.

"It can take seasoned shinigami down without any signs of battle," the prodigy explained. "That means there were no battles. It took them down before they realized what happened."

"Or maybe the wimps from the Third were just too weak it could kill them with one strike," Oda offered.

"No-one ever said that the Third was composed of wimps," Hitsugaya objected. "And no-one makes Third Seat by being a pushover. Even in the Fourth the Third Seat can hold her own in battle. To take out someone that strong in a fair fight, the reiatsu would be felt from several districts away. But that didn't happen. His subordinates were close and they didn't feel a thing. His reiatsu just disappeared. That means the Hollow is expert at masking its presence and takes down its victims by surprise."

"That won't work on us," Oda stated arrogantly.

"I wish that was true," Toushirou sighed. "We must be extremely careful or we'd end up dead before we'd realize the battle begun."

"You really should have stayed in the Fourth, brat," the Seventh Seat scoffed.

"When the Hollow get's you from behind, I reserve the right to say 'I told you so.'" Hitsugaya replied.

"Quit it," Iba berated them. "We shouldn't beat up each other before we get to the Hollow. Now that would be embarrassing, wouldn't it?"

"It's not like the wimp can touch me," Oda scoffed.

"I said stop and that's an order," the Fourth Seat repeated forcefully. "And besides, we're almost there."

Sure enough, when they concentrated, they could already feel the reiatsu of the Third Division members waiting for them ahead. They were greeted by a short, thin, stern, middle aged woman with black, purplish-tinted hair streaked with grey, with a wide streak of grey running on the left side of her head. The badge on her left arm identified her as the Third Division Lieutenant, the person who had led the Third Division ever since their captain had died in some mysterious disaster sixty years ago. Fourth Seat Iba walked forward and bowed to the woman.

"Greetings, Lieutenant Iba. The reinforcements have arrived at your request."

"Thank you, Tetsuzaemon," she answered. For a moment, her face seemed less stern. "Are you the commander of the reinforcements?"

"Yes, Mother," he confirmed.

_Mother? _Hitsugaya blinked in surprise. She was his mother? They looked nothing alike. She was so petite and he was a huge hunk of a man. Well, maybe not that huge, but still a lot bigger than her. And even their demeanor was nothing alike; she resembled a stern teacher while he could be easily mistaken for a yakuza hitman.

"That's good for you," she nodded approvingly. "Success on such a mission would help you earn a position of more responsibility and prestige."

"I am happy with my current position," Tetsuzaemon pointed out.

"I know," she sighed. "But you can do much better, son."

"Mom..." It was obvious from Tetsuzaemon's voice that they had this discussion many times before.

"Enough with this," she decided. "We have a mission. Let's go to the camp and I'll brief you on the situation and your assignments."

They walked to the centre of the Third Division's camp. Iba-fukutaichou knelt on the ground and rolled out a map. Hitsugaya couldn't see it through his squadmates, he only had a brief moment to notice that there seemed to be lots of lakes and streams around. There also seemed to be little human settlement, which struck Toushirou as odd. Hollows usually preferred much more populated areas, where they could find more souls to eat. Their appearances in barely-populated areas were rare. But this region did have its own population, however small, so it wasn't that strange for a Hollow to appear here. The fukutaichou than began a lengthy explanation on where did who disappear and when, which bored most of the Eleventh Divisioners to tears. That gave Hitsugaya the opportunity to push his way to the front of the crowd, unfortunately just in time for her explanation to end. He sighed in frustration. From what little he had seen, it was impossible to determine a pattern in the Hollow's attacks. After that followed the strategy part of the meeting, in which the lieutenant assigned each of the four units from the Eleventh an area to patrol and told them which Third Division officer should they report to.

When she finished, most of the Eleventh Divisioners looked relieved. They weren't much for strategy and meetings, their style was charge in, kill whatever moves, go home. It served to intensify Hitsugaya's bad feelings about this mission. They were about to get massacred. Hitsugaya wondered which ones were going to die and whether he would miss them.

Then the four high officers called for their groups to move and he followed Ayasegawa to their destination. Hitsugaya was on high alert, searching for the most minuscule sign that a Hollow was nearby. It made him jump at the smallest sound. His squadmates of course noticed it.

"Are you scared?" Togusa, the Tenth Seat asked.

"I'm merely cautious," Toushirou replied.

"That's the same," Togusa retorted. It was a common attitude in the Eleventh, one that vexed the boy to no end with its suicidal stupidity.

"Not really," the white-haired boy disagreed. "If I were truly scared, I would be running away, which I am not."

"I think you'll be running soon enough," the Tenth Seat voiced his opinion.

"Stop the ugly arguing," Ayasegawa interrupted them before Hitsugaya could retort, "we're almost there."

Sure enough, after a minute they were greeted by a Third Division member. She led them to where their unit set their temporary headquarters.

"So you are our reinforcements?" a familiar voice asked. Hitsugaya looked for its source with a sinking feeling. He wasn't mistaken. It was the crazy lady. It's been around two years since he last encountered her and she barely changed. _Great, _he thought. _Now I have her to worry about too. _He tried to hide behind his squadmates. Maybe she wouldn't notice him. Unfortunately his odd behavior was noticed by said squadmates.

"Why are you hiding, squirt?" Togusa asked. "The Hollow isn't anywhere near, so there's nothing to be scared of."

"I beg to differ," Hitsugaya muttered. The exchange drew Matsumoto's attention.

"What do you have there?" she asked. Togusa pushed Hitsugaya forward. Matsumoto's face lightened in recognition. "Oi, it's you, Whitey!" She flashed over to him and crushed him in a hug. Hitsugaya, unprepared for it, struggled to breathe. _Though I really should have expected it, _he thought. _She did it every time._

"Lucky bastard," Togusa commented whistling appreciatively as he watched Hitsugaya struggle to get away from Matsumoto's breasts. The woman dropped her captive and turned to the man.

"Watch your mouth, sir," she suggested. "And watch where are you staring. My face is up here."

"And what a beautiful face it is," Yumichika commented. "Though not as beautiful as mine."

"I wouldn't be so sure, pretty boy," Matsumoto retorted.

"Well, I am sure," Ayasegawa stated confidently. The majority of his subordinates rolled their eyes behind his back.

After the comical interlude, they got back to business. Matsumoto showed them another map and told them what areas they were assigned to patrol. They were supposed to patrol in pairs, so if the Hollow got the drop on one of them the other could assist him. Most of the Eleventh Division members took it as an insult to their abilities and philosophy and they didn't hesitate in voicing their opinion. Didn't the stupid Third Division woman know that fights are always one on one? If somebody was careless enough to let the Hollow surprise him, he deserved to be eaten.

"This is going to be a massacre," Hitsugaya muttered.

"Looks like the kid has more brains that all of you put together," Matsumoto commented.

"He's just scared," Togusa insisted.

"Or maybe he just uses his brain," Toushirou muttered.

"All that arguing is ugly," Ayasegawa stated. "We came here to fight a Hollow, not each other." After that the assignments were finally handed and everybody left on their patrol, though Hitsugaya doubted they would keep to their assigned routes.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The first patrol was uneventful. They spent a whole night wandering around the local forests and marshlands and the only life form they encountered was a lone bat. They haven't seen anything resembling a Hollow. Togusa was unhappy with it and kept complaining the whole time, until Hitsugaya snapped and told him that the Hollow was probably alerted to their presence by his whining. Togusa smiled and replied that it meant he's so awesome that even the Hollow knows that it shouldn't come anywhere near him if it valued its existence. Hitsugaya didn't even try to suppress his urge to groan.

They returned to the camp to wait for their next shift. Togusa spent the time he was awake boasting about how he scared the Hollow away. Somebody from the Third, whose friend was killed by it, didn't take to it kindly and the two ended up fighting, with the contingents from both divisions cheering on their respective representative.

The fight was suddenly interrupted by a feeling of heavy reiatsu and a blade being shown between the two hotheads.

"What's going on here?" Matsumoto announced her return from her patrol and that she wasn't happy.

"What are you doing?" Togusa complained. "I was about to kick his ass."

"You weren't," his opponent disagreed.

"Enough!" Matsumoto shouted, releasing enough reiatsu that she was glowing. "Save your energy for the Hollow! Or do you think you can fight it all beaten up?"

"A true member of the Eleventh can always fight!" Togusa proclaimed proudly and his squadmates cheered approvingly.

"Then go out there and give the Hollow a fight!" Matsumoto suggested. "Not each other! And make sure you don't end up like Kawahara."

"Who?" a few people asked blankly while others demanded: "What happened to him?"

"He disappeared," the blond woman explained. "Even his partner has no idea what happened to him."

"He was a weakling," Togusa shrugged. Matsumoto smacked him over the head. The man blinked in surprise. He didn't even see her move.

"Don't say such things!" she scolded, making the man feel like a schoolboy. "With that attitude, you're going to be the next one who goes missing."

"Not going to happen," the man smirked, regaining his confidence quickly.

"Don't be so cocky," she admonished him. "And head out on your patrol. It's already time." Togusa scowled, but sheathed his zanpakutou and turned to leave. Hitsugaya scrambled after him.

"Oi, kid!" Matsumoto's shout stopped him. "You're with him?" He nodded in confirmation. "Make sure nothing happens to the idiot. You seem to have more brains than the rest of the Eleventh put together." The assembled Eleventh Divisioners took offense, but miraculously they didn't cause another fight. They headed out to patrol instead.

That night seemed to drag on forever, because Togusa couldn't stop complaining about Matsumoto's scolding and what he wanted to do to her in return. His ideas ranged from violent to lewd to both. Hitsugaya felt mildly nauseated by some of the suggestions. In the end he snapped and told the man that if he wouldn't shut up right now, he was going to shut him up. Togusa prompted him to try, boasting that he was the Tenth Seat and Hitsugaya just the Eighteenth and that he didn't even understand why was such weakling along on the mission, unless he was there as Hollow bait. Hitsugaya retorted that he'd gladly explain to him why he was on the mission and which one of them was a weakling and Togusa rose to the bait. The fight was over in five seconds, ending with Togusa sprawled on the ground, nursing his sore wrist, his zanpakutou sticking from the ground six paces away. After that, he didn't jab at Hitsugaya again. The boy was a bit worried that he'll get in trouble for the fight, but such behavior was expected from the Eleventh and nobody commented on it.

Their next period of rest in the camp was uneventful. None shinigami had disappeared, only a message came that one of the local villagers was missing. That had Togusa laughing that he wasn't the next one to disappear after all, but Matsumoto shot him a look that shut him up immediately, saying that he can still disappear and it might not be the doing of the Hollow. Then evening came again and with it the time for their third patrol.

.*****************************************************************************************.

They were walking on the top of a small ridge, overlooking the surrounding landscape. The air was cool in the time before dawn and mist was forming above the water, covering the lake in a white veil.

"All quiet again," Togusa sighed. "We've been wandering around here for days and still nothing." The irritation in his voice was obvious. "I want a fight, not this wandering around. I wouldn't even mind if someone else killed the Hollow, because we would be able to finally go home. I really need a drink."

"There's plenty of water around," Hitsugaya pointed out.

"I didn't mean this kind of drink," the man corrected him. Toushirou nearly slapped himself for his blunder. Then the older man suddenly raised his head. "Hey, isn't that reiatsu?"

"Of course it is," Hitsugaya replied. "It belongs to the two Third Division guys patrolling over there. Don't tell me you noticed them only now." Togusa didn't answer. They wandered on the hill for a while longer. Then suddenly Hitsugaya stopped short.

"Spooked by a shadow, boy?" the older man jibed.

"No," the boy replied. "One reiatsu suddenly vanished."

"So what?" the Tenth Seat shrugged uncaringly.

"How can you ask so stupidly?" Toushirou barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Something must have happened to them. Maybe it's the Hollow!" That caught Togusa's interest.

"Let's go!" he decided and ran into the direction he thought the patrol from the Third was. Hitsugaya had to correct him, but they arrived at the site shortly. They saw a woman from the Third looking frantically around for her partner.

"What happened here?" Hitsugaya asked.

"I don't know," she threw her arms around, a hint of panic in her voice. "Tsubasa just went to the lake and haven't come back. And I can't feel his reiatsu anymore." It was obvious she was very worried about him.

Hitsugaya looked the direction she was looking. Nothing seemed out of ordinary. The forest around them was quiet with the exception of the wind rustling the leaves, the water was still and the mist was floating silently above it. There wasn't a sign of Hollow reiatsu to be felt anywhere. And yet Hitsugaya's instincts insisted something was wrong with the picture. Too bad he couldn't put a finger on the reason.

"Let's take a look," Togusa suggested, grabbing the hilt of his zanpakutou.

"Are you sure it's wise?" the Third Division woman asked. "We'll lose sight of you in the mist."

"If you are scared, don't come, lady," Togusa retorted cockily and headed towards the lake.

"Maybe I can do something about the mist," Hitsugaya said unsheathing Hyourinmaru. He had only used his Tensou Juurin ability to cause snow or rain, but it theoretically could be used to control the weather in any manner. It should be enough to dispel the mist.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru," he commanded. Clouds started forming on the clear sky. Hitsugaya concentrated on the feeling of the water in the air. Even after more than two and half years since he did this for the first time, he still didn't get used to the feeling of suddenly being spread over a large space.

First he concentrated on dissolving the clouds, so the moonlight could still shine down on them. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to see anything even when he did dissolve the fog. Then he concentrated on the mist above the water. And frowned. It wasn't working. He tried again. His senses were still telling him that the mist wasn't there, despite being able to see it clearly. So what... and then it hit him.

"Don't go there!" he shouted at Togusa, but the man had already disappeared in the white haze. "That mist is the Hollow's doing!"

Even if Toushirou couldn't see it, he could feel the man's reiatsu faltering, then spiking momentarily, indicating his surprise. He imagined that he turned around. But whatever the mist did was already taking effect. Togusa's reiatsu quickly dropped again. And that was when the Hollow struck. There was a brief spike of tainted reiatsu, a startled yelp and then nothing. Both the Hollow's and Togusa's reiatsu disappeared.

"It got him too," the woman whispered with horror. Hitsugaya didn't blame her. This situation scared him too. There was a Hollow nearby he had to purify, but he couldn't come close to it. He didn't know what the mist did, but he bet on some kind of slow-acting poison. It sounded like the most logical possibility: the shinigami would walk into a completely harmless-looking fog near the lake, then collapse a while later and the Hollow would eat them while they're defenseless.

So what was he supposed to do? He had powerful long-range attacks, but he had nothing to aim them at. The Hollow was still masking its presence perfectly. And even now it could be swimming away... wait, there was an idea. Knowing everything he did about the enemy, there was a good chance that the creature was aquatic. He wasted no more time, powering up his strongest attack. The sky darkened with clouds once more. Then he swung Hyourinmaru and sent an ice dragon flying into the lake, not far from the banks. The ice projectile landed in the water and the overflowing reiatsu froze it in an instant.

An angry howl sounded from the lake and foul reiatsu enveloped them. Hitsugaya's eyes widened momentarily. That thing was powerful. Way more powerful than he thought it would be, but then, when it had managed to kill a Third Seat, he should have really expected it.

The sound of ice breaking was nearly drowned by the howling, but Hitsugaya's ears picked it nevertheless. So his attack did hit the Hollow, but not enough to entrap it completely. But it managed to anger it and in its anger it made a huge mistake: it raised its spiritual pressure. Hitsugaya now knew exactly where it was.

Another swing of Hyourinmaru sent an ice dragon flying in that direction. The Hollow noticed it in time and dodged. _It's fast, _Hitsugaya thought. _This is going to be a harder battle than I thought. _He sent two dragons at once after it, thinking about what he should do if he wasn't able to hit it from a distance and couldn't fight it close quarters either. Fortunately the Hollow decided it for him. It lunged out of the mist, heading straight for Hitsugaya and his companion.

The prodigy shunpoed out of the way, but the woman wasn't so fast. She took a glancing blow and was flung into the bushes. Hitsugaya landed, taking his first good look at the monster. At first glance, it reminded him of a snake, though on second one it resembled some kind of fish more. Eel perhaps. It had a long, slender body with fin-like structure on its back and six tentacles on its head. It didn't seem to have limbs of any kind, but Hitsugaya couldn't see it clearly enough in the darkness.

He sent an ice dragon flying at it, to see how it would react. Its body coiled for a moment and then it sprang away, the dragon missing it narrowly. _So that's how it moves, _Hitsugaya observed. _It can quickly launch in any direction and the only time it can't dodge is midair. It makes it very hard to hit._

The Hollow spat white mist from its mouth and Hitsugaya's eyes widened. The dangerous gas got too close to him for comfort. He shunpoed to safe distance.

"Arawasu, Tetsukoushi!" the voice of his companion called. Oh no. He had completely forgotten about her. And now she was almost at the edge of the fake mist cloud. He hoped she was smart enough not to go any closer. She didn't. She instead pointed her zanpakutou at the Hollow. The sword now seemed to be much wider. No, Hitsugaya quickly corrected his assessment, there were several parallel blades protruding from the guard now.

"Fly!" she called. One of the blades separated from the sword and darted at the Hollow. The creature dodged and the blade stabbed the ground where it used to be. The woman didn't wait for anything and fired another one. Even Hitsugaya wasn't idle. He sent two dragons soaring each side of the Hollow, making it harder for it to evade the flying blade. The Hollow somehow managed to twist to avoid all. But next attack was already on its way.

This repeated several more times, with Hitsugaya scoring one glancing hit on the Hollow, which didn't inconvenience it significantly. But after eight shots, the Third Divisioner was out of blades. Yet she didn't look dismayed.

"Grow!" she called. The blades, now scattered all around the area, suddenly sprouted iron protrusions, quickly growing and aiming for the Hollow. It couldn't see them from where it was staring at Hitsugaya hungrily and it reacted too late. The iron rods pierced its tail, pinning it to the ground. _So this was her strategy, _Hitsugaya thought. _Well done, it can't dodge now._

The Hollow roared in pain and anger, trying to pry the rods from the ground. For a moment, it looked like it might actually succeed in freeing itself. Then an Ice dragon shattered its mask. With one final howl, the monster disintegrated into a cloud of black reishi.

"Good job," the woman smiled. "I didn't expect a child to be so good." Hitsugaya was torn between feeling complimented and insulted.

"You did well too, uhm..." he looked at her questioningly.

"Sasaki Rie," she introduced herself. "Third Division, Twelfth Seat."

"Hitsugaya Toushirou. Eleventh Division, Eighteenth Seat," he returned her courtesy. "And we have to look for Togusa and Tsubasa, if there's still something left of them." Sasaki grimaced.

"It's still too dark," she pointed out.

"At least that fake mist dissipated. And darkness is no problem," Toushirou stated creating a kidou light in his palm. Sasaki's eyes widened in surprise momentarily, but she said nothing. He headed for where he had last detected Togusa's reiatsu, Rie at his heals. They didn't find the man. There was only a bloody stain on the grass.

"I'm sorry," Sasaki offered.

"I barely knew him," Hitsugaya replied. 'And he was a jerk' remained unsaid. It wasn't something he would say about the dead. And no matter how much the man jibed at him, he didn't wish him this fate. He wished he was quicker in seeing through the Hollow's trap, so the man didn't have to die. But Togusa had been an Eleventh Divisioner through and through, so he might not have heeded his warnings anyway.

"I suppose looking for Tsubasa is pointless," Rie sighed.

"We have to try anyway." They tried. The eastern sky lightened with approaching dawn, but they couldn't find any trace of the missing shinigami.

Shortly before sunrise, Matsumoto appeared on the scene, accompanied with one of her subordinates Hitsugaya didn't recognize.

"We felt your release," the Fourth Seat said without preamble. "What happened here?" Sasaki gave her a brief report of the happenings, with Hitsugaya adding some important details from time to time.

"So you say the Hollow was purified?" Matsumoto asked when they finished.

"Yes," Sasaki answered.

"It certainly seems so," Rangiku agreed, "but we can be completely certain yet. We should probably keep patrolling the area for a few more days to make sure the danger is over, but that is for Iba-fukutaichou to decide. Now come with me. She'll want your report too."

.*****************************************************************************************.

"And this is all that happened?" Iba-fukutaichou inquired.

"Yes, madam," Sasaki replied. In the daylight, she looked worn-out and even paler than during the night, but her voice didn't betray her fatigue.

"I see," the elderly woman said. Her expression was stony, not betraying her thoughts. "Do you have anything to add?" she turned to Hitsugaya.

"No," the boy replied. Even he showed the strain of the night's adventure. Despite being unharmed and using only a fraction of his reiryoku, the incident exhausted him mentally. During the whole search for Togusa and Tsubasa, he couldn't help but think that at least one of the men could have been saved if he had just noticed the false mist earlier. It brought back the memories of Minako and her death during their school trip. Once again somebody died because he wasn't good enough.

"Good work, both of you," Chikane praised them. "We'll have to stay to confirm it, but it seems that the danger has been eliminated."

"That's thanks to him," Rie pointed at Hitsugaya. "Without him, I would have walked into the mist too."

"I noticed it too late," Toushirou said.

"Don't feel so down about it," Matsumoto interjected ruffling his hair. "You noticed it and that's what counts. Without you, more would have died." It sounded like a hollow reassurance to his ears. He felt so down he didn't even protest Matsumoto's treatment. "You look like you need a hug," she observed and pulled him to her chest. That woke the boy from his musings and he tried frantically to free himself from the deathgrip, much to the amusement of the onlookers.

"What? You don't like it boy?" "Lucky brat." "Wish I were him."

Hitsugaya finally freed himself after he hit a ticklish spot on her stomach and kicked her in the knee simultaneously. He staggered back, gasping for breath.

"That's not what you're supposed to do when a girl hugs you to her bosom," somebody shouted. Hitsugaya didn't bother to react.

"Enough of your antics," Lieutenant Iba commanded. Her subordinates immediately shut up. Those from the Eleventh didn't obey so readily, but a stern glare remedied it. "Now back to the topic. I'll give you a commendation for your ingenuous use of shikai in solving the disturbance."

"Like Kenpachi would ever read it. It is a coward's sword," Seventh Seat Oda scoffed. Unfortunately the fish-like Hollow didn't even try to kill him and he was bored, itching for a fight.

"Say that again and I'll show you who's a coward!" Hitsugaya shouted, his hand twitching towards his zanpakutou's hilt.

"Everyone who uses such a lame shikai is," Oda replied. "True men don't need such fancy weapons."

"Then come on and show me how true men fight," Toushirou challenged. "Or are you afraid you'd lose? You didn't dare to challenge me again after the last time, so..."

"Of course I'm not afraid!" the man bellowed drawing his sword. In the next moment, Iba-fukutaichou appeared in front of him, her reiatsu and icy glare enough to make the man back down.

"Kill each other as you want when you're in your barracks, but don't do it in my camp," she spoke gravely.

"Yes, madam," Oda bowed, cowed by her presence. Even a hothead like him could tell that she was on a different level. Once the man was properly pacified, the woman turned to Hitsugaya. "And you, young man, what were you thinking, challenging a Seventh Seat? He'd whack you to pieces."

"I beg to differ," Hitsugaya replied evenly. "I sent him to the Fourth last time, even if I lost, and I got better since then. I think I could take him on now."

"An Eighteenth Seat can't take on the Seventh," Chikane said skeptically.

"I'm Eighteenth Seat only because it's hard to get a promotion in the Eleventh when you use 'fancy shikai.' I can wipe the floor with many higher seats," the boy explained. Iba-fukutaichou didn't look convinced.

"That's true," Sasaki added. "What he showed against the Hollow was high above the level of an Eighteenth Seat. I'd say Tenth at least, if that was all he could do."

"Why are you even in the Eleventh, shrimp?" Matsumoto asked. Hitsugaya bristled at her form of address, but kept his temper in check. "You obviously don't fit there."

"Most divisions don't accept children," he answered.

"And the Eleventh does?" she questioned.

"It's a long story," he shrugged. He didn't think admitting to beating up patients in the Fourth would earn him any bonus points here.

"Wouldn't you like to transfer to the Third?" Rangiku suggested. "He can, can't he?" she turned to Iba with a pleading look in her face. The lieutenant considered for a moment the request of her new second-in-command.

"I don't see why not," she answered. "But remember, boy, the Third isn't the Eleventh. No brawls, understood?"

"Yes, madam," he nodded solemnly. He considered whether he should accept the offer. On one hand, he would get away from the madhouse that was the Eleventh. On the other hand, he'd get into dangerous proximity of Matsumoto and her deadly boobs. Nothing in the Eleventh ever got as close to killing him as those things. But if he didn't go to the baths with her again, he should be relatively safe. Her usual hugs could only cause mild injury. And he'd be out of reach of Ayasegawa and his crazy schemes. And Yachiru and her games. That made his decision. "I'd very much like to be a part of the Third."

Matsumoto squealed and crushed him to his breasts. Struggling for his breath, Hitsugaya wondered whether he just made a grave mistake.


	8. Easy life

**Author's note:** Finally, the next chapter is here. Sorry for letting you wait for so long, but some parts of this chapter just didn't want to be written. I hope it is worth the wait. On a more positive note, chapters 9 and 10 are almost finished and I should be able to publish them soon. Though I'm stuck on chapters 11 and 12, so I have no idea how long before I will publish those.

Also, this chapter comes with an illustration. You can find it on my Deviant Art profile, you should know the drill by now.

Now read and enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach.

**On the Fro****zen Plain – Easy life**

.*****************************************************************************************.

The joined forces of the Third and the Eleventh continued patrolling the area for another week. When no more people disappeared and only one Hollow appeared, but that one was clearly a weakling and was dealt with swiftly, Lieutenant Iba agreed that the danger was over and allowed everybody to go home.

Once back in the barracks, Matsumoto showed up with paperwork for Hitsugaya's transfer to the Third. Unlike his previous transfer, this one wasn't instant and he wouldn't officially change divisions until the end of the month. That allowed everybody who cared anything about him in the Eleventh to enjoy their last weeks with him. Especially Yachiru insisted on playing with him all the time, nearly preventing him from doing anything else, until he pointed out that she'd be still able to visit him when he transferred. That lifted the girl's spirit and she wasn't bothering his so much anymore, which in turn improved Hitsugaya's mood until he realized that he wouldn't be rid of her no matter where he went.

Seventh Seat Oda didn't forget about the challenge issued on the mission either. Or maybe it was that some of his subordinates were now snickering about him being scared of little Hitsugaya. He arranged an official match with the boy, with the division in attendance, no holds barred.

The morning of the fight Toushirou felt apprehensive. It had been months since he had last crossed swords with the Seventh Seat. And despite his boasting about wounding the man, he knew that it was more good luck than skills, even if Oda didn't realize it. He knew he had improved since then, but he felt doubt whether it would be enough. But now was too late to back off. He had issued a challenge and he had to stand true to it, such was the way of the Eleventh and he was still a member of the Eleventh for another week.

The training grounds were packed with spectators when Hitsugaya entered. The youngster paused for a bit, he didn't expect such a high attendance. It made him feel a bit intimidated. In front of so many people, he couldn't afford to lose.

Oda walked into the arena, looking just as cocky and bloodthirsty as ever. Or maybe a bit more than usual, with him it was hard to tell.

"Ready to get pounded into the ground, brat?" he asked instead of a greeting.

"Ready to pound you into the ground," Hitsugaya retorted, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

"You're welcome to try," the man smirked, drawing his sword. Hitsugaya mirrored his action. They both looked at Fourth Seat Iba, who was once again cast into the role of the referee. He nodded to the two combatants.

"Begin!"

Oda waited for nothing and charged. Hitsugaya dodged at the last moment and attacked Oda's side. The man blocked and kicked at Hitsugaya's stomach. The boy jumped back before the foot could connect. Oda tried to whack him on the head, but Hitsugaya shunpoed away, reappearing behind him. The man barely blocked the sword aiming at his midsection.

"Trying your sissy cowardly tricks again?" the Seventh Seat sneered. "Maybe you should give up now, because they aren't going to work."

"I beg to differ," Hitsugaya said before slipping into shunpo again. He reappeared behind Oda and as the big man turned to face him, he shunpoed again. Having not finished his earlier movement, Oda didn't react fast enough. The tip of Hitsugaya's sword cut a thin line on his hip.

"Bastard!" the man shouted. "You're going down!" He attacked Hitsugaya with a flurry of blows and punches the boy could barely block. It was obvious that the Seventh Seat was still superior to him in terms of strength, speed and kenjutsu skills. But that was all Oda had going for him. Hitsugaya could (and had to) use shunpo to avoid his attacks and attack his back. It put the combatants on more even ground, because Oda believed that shunpo was for sissies and the cowards from Onmitsukidou.

The fight continued for several minutes. Both parties were now sporting numerous gashes and bruises, but neither managed to score a debilitating hit. Oda was the first one who got frustrated with the state of things. He disengaged for a moment, outstretching his arms, the blade of his sword pointing upwards.

"You're going down, wimp," he announced. "Kudaku, Karazao." The sword in his hands glowed and lengthened. It turned into a staff with a spiked cylinder attached to it by a short chain. It didn't look overly impressive as a weapon, but Hitsugaya knew from personal experience how well the Seventh Seat could wield it and how devastating one hit from the flail was. He knew that the fight had just turned dangerous.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru," he called for his own shikai. He knew that without it he stood no chance. He was just in time. Oda wasted no time in attacking and Toushirou had just enough time to lift Hyourinmaru to block the strike from Oda's flail. The man immediately tried to hit him with the blunt end of his weapon. The boy jumped back, avoiding the blow and throwing Hyourinmaru's chain simultaneously. The Seventh Seat narrowly dodged the crescent blade. Hitsugaya followed the attack with an ice dragon. Oda had no chance to dodge at such short distance, but he managed to smash the dragon's head with his flail. The force behind Hitsugaya's attack pushed him back a step, but he remained upright.

"Trying your cowardly tricks again?" the man sneered. "You should know by now that it won't work!" Instead of an answer, Hitsugaya launched another attack at him. This time Oda sidestepped and charged at Hitsugaya. The boy was wide open so his only means of defense was a hasty retreat via shunpo.

"Running already?" Oda taunted. "You know you stand no chance so just give it up."

"I don't see where you get your confidence from," Hitsugaya shot back as he shunpoed behind Oda's back and tried to slice him in half. Oda blocked with the blunt end of his weapon. Ice appeared on it. Hitsugaya threw the chain-and sickle blade, trying to entangle Oda's legs. The man attacked him with his flail and the boy had to dodge, the crescent blade falling to the ground harmlessly.

The fight continued in this manner for quite some time, neither opponent gaining an upper hand. It made Oda progressively more and more frustrated. He shouted insults at the younger shinigami and his attacks became wilder and less controlled. Hitsugaya on the other hand was satisfied that he was holding his own for so long, because it had never happened before. He didn't even care that he received more scratches and bruises as Oda, it didn't hamper his fighting ability. That complacency cost him when he fell for the Seventh Seat's feint and the spikes of his flail ripped deep into the flesh of his left upper arm, rendering the limb nearly useless. Still he could be glad that the hit didn't shatter his shoulder completely.

That changed the dynamics of the fight dramatically. Hitsugaya suddenly couldn't fight on equal grounds in close quarters, he could only evade and launch his ice dragons from distance, but Oda was able to shatter those.

"Now would be a good time to give up!" the Seventh Seat suggested with glee.

"Never!" Hitsugaya shouted without thinking about the answer, though privately he was tempted to agree. His left arm was useless and only freezing the wound with his reiatsu prevented him from losing more blood. But he was too proud to give up, especially to Oda. He had started this fight so he could finally beat him and he still intended to follow through with the plan. The only question was: how?

As he dodged another attack, he started mentally categorizing his assets. His shunpo was to his advantage, but that was about it. He had long range attacks, but Oda was able to block them, so they didn't count. The only result was that the arena was now covered in shattered ice. Wait, that was something. Ice was his element. Maybe he could use it somehow? His brow scrunched in concentration as he worked on a plan. Oda mistook his expression for one of pain.

"What about giving up now?" he called. "You can barely stand." But Hitsugaya's plan was already finished.

"You may give up anytime you want," he shot back, but he made sure his voice sounded strained. He swayed slightly on his feet, pretending he was getting lightheaded. He had to convince Oda he was more wounded than he really was.

"You can barely stand." The Seventh Seat fell for the ploy. "Give up now or I can't guarantee I won't kill you."

"Not going to happen," Hitsugaya stated, moving as if to attack Oda, but stumbled. The man grinned maliciously.

"Your funeral, kid," he shrugged and rushed to attack. Considering his and Hitsugaya's position, he had to run through the area where the ice was piled the highest. Toushirou had to suppress a smirk as he saw how his plan was working. But he couldn't give out his intentions just yet. Just a couple more steps... Now! Oda's foot stepped into the pile of ice, sinking deep. Hitsugaya swung his zanpakutou. The ice around Oda's ankle solidified, trapping his foot. The Seventh Seat fell. Considering the yell he gave out, it was possible that he broke something in his ankle too.

Hitsugaya smirked and sprung into action. Before Oda could get up, he shunpoed behind his back, all pretense of injury abandoned. The man tried to turn, but the ice holding his foot prevented him. He swung his flail behind his back blindly, but Hitsugaya jumped over it. He landed on Oda's back and slammed the pommel of Hyourinmaru into his head. Then he laid the blade to the dazed man's neck.

"You lost," he announced.

"You cheated!" Oda screamed.

"It was an all-out fight," Iba, as the referee, decided. "And Hitsugaya is holding his sword to your neck, so he's the winner."

"It wasn't an honest victory," Oda grumbled.

"You're just mad because you lost," Hitsugaya commented. He sighed heavily and sunk to his knees. He was happy that he won, despite the spectators' jeering and booing. He was used to it, And besides, he wouldn't have to live with them after next week anymore. But as the adrenaline washed out of his bloodstream, he became more aware of the wounds he had acquired in the process. Especially his left upper arm. It hurt, but parts of it were also becoming numb. Maybe covering the wound with ice hadn't been a very good idea. He'd have to go to the Fourth and so would Oda, it seemed he had torn a tendon in his ankle.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The General Relief Station looked just like it always did. The only thing of note there was that the healer tending to his wounds was Kira.

"What are you doing here?" Hitsugaya asked in surprise. "Weren't you in the Fifth?"

"I was," the blond nodded.

"So why did you transfer?"

"Well," Kira hesitated, "I don't know how to put it, but I didn't feel like I belonged into the Fifth."

"Oh?" Hitsugaya looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not good enough for a battle unit."

"You?" Hitsugaya couldn't believe his ears. "You were one of the best in our year. You ranked what? Third? And only because I and Abarai had shikai? You have one now too, don't you?"

"Yes," Izuru nodded. "But it's nothing awesome like Abarai's or Hinamori's."

"I think you're underestimating yourself."

"I don't think so," the blond shook his head sadly. "I was doing bad in battles. Hinamori is so much better than me. Last battle I messed up completely and she got hurt."

Hitsugaya's head snapped up. "What? I didn't hear about that."

"It wasn't serious, but it could have been. It was then when I decided that I don't belong on the battlefield. So I transferred here."

"Are you sure you aren't just depressed?" Kira certainly looked that part, even more than usual.

"I know what I am doing," the older boy answered.

"If you think so," Hitsugaya shrugged. "It's your life and none of my business."

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya was very relieved when he could finally pack his things and say the Eleventh Division goodbye. His desire to get out of there as soon as possible was only strengthened by the comments of many of the Eleventh Divisioners about how it was good that he wouldn't be soiling their division with his presence anymore. Though he was a bit hurt too. He had spent a year and half in this place and he had gotten used to it. He wished someone would miss him, well, someone other than Yachiru. But his old classmate Renji just remarked that he 'finally realized that he isn't good enough for the Eleventh' and Yumichika stated that his leaving 'wasn't beautiful.'

He did his best not to let it bother him. As he walked towards the Third, he decided to put everything he had been through in the Eleventh behind. He was walking towards a new life. A good, peaceful life in a quiet, sane division. One with no jerks that would ridicule him because of his shikai or his appearance. Well, the second one was probably asking for too much, but at least the Third wasn't composed entirely of such jerks. At least there was somebody who actually wanted him there.

Though, as he reported in the lieutenant's office and was promptly crushed in Matsumoto's chest, he wondered whether it was an entirely good thing.

Though he was a seated officer, he wasn't put in command of any unit. Instead he was assigned to the Sixth patrol unit, as a replacement for the late Tsubasa. That put him in the same unit as his acquaintance Sasaki Rie, who was the second-in-command. The commander was Sixth Seat Oyama Hiroyuki, a big man with over a century of experience, who at first wasn't happy that he now had a child in his squad, but Sasaki convinced him that Hitsugaya was good, so he accepted him. That did a lot to help the other members of the team to accept him. Hitsugaya suddenly had nothing to complain about. Compared to his time in the Eleventh, it felt like a dream.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Shiro-chan?" The voice startled Hitsugaya as he was walking home from delivering a routine report. He turned in surprise.

"Momo? What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit Matsumoto-san."

"You know her?" Toushirou asked in surprise.

"Yes," the girl confirmed, "from the SWA meetings. What are you doing here?"

"I belong here," he answered.

"Huh?" the girl blinked in confusion.

"I transferred into the Third," the boy elaborated.

"What?" Momo scowled. "You transferred and didn't tell me?"

"Uh... sorry?" Hitsugaya grinned sheepishly. Only now he realized that he probably should have told her.

"You have a lot to be sorry for," Hinamori scolded. "Why didn't you tell me? Aren't we friends?" She looked like she might start crying.

"Of course we are," Toushirou assured her.

"Are we?" she questioned, teary-eyed. "You never tell me anything. You didn't tell me when you joined the Academy. You didn't tell me when you transferred to the Eleventh and you didn't tell me when you transferred out! Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"But you wanted me to transfer out," Hitsugaya pointed out.

"That's beside the point! You didn't tell me about it, that's the problem! And why didn't you come to the Fifth? We could have been together!"

"Uh..." Hitsugaya had no idea how to answer this. Whatever he'd say, it would upset Hinamori more. "I'm sorry?" he tried in the end, hoping it wasn't too wrong.

"You have a lot to be sorry for," Hinamori glared daggers at him. "But that didn't answer my question: why didn't you tell me?"

"Uh... I forgot?"

"You forgot?" Momo echoed with disbelief. "What kind of reason is that? How long have you been here anyway?"

"A little over a week," Toushirou answered.

"So you didn't even think about me for over a week?"

"That's not it."

"No? Than what?" she demanded. Hitsugaya didn't answer. He didn't really have a better reason than 'you're too fussy,' and saying that aloud would only dig him deeper. Unfortunately saying nothing was a wrong choice too. "So I'm not worth an answer, am I?"

"No, you are," the boy said hurriedly.

"Then answer me." Her expression made it clear that he'd better have a good answer. The problem was that he didn't. He had completely forgotten about telling Hinamori. Between the duel with Oda and moving to new barracks, things were too hectic to think about a friend he hadn't seen in months. Momo would either go ballistic or cry if he told her that.

"I'm really, really sorry. I'm not going to do it again. The next time I'll transfer divisions you'll be the first I'll tell."

"You still didn't answer me. And what did you mean: the next time you'll transfer divisions?"

"Uh..." Hitsugaya himself didn't know why did he say it. He had no plans of leaving the Third anytime soon. He wracked his mind frantically for something he could say to placate Momo. Unfortunately he had never been much good with words and now they seemed to completely desert him. Their argument had also attracted spectators whose presence was making Toushirou even more self-conscious.

"I'm waiting," Hinamori prompted. Her stare made Hitsugaya want to sink into the floor.

"Is that you, Momo-chan?" Matsumoto's voice sounded from nearby, making the girl turn. Hitsugaya closed his eyes in relief. It looked like Matsumoto saved him this time.

"Matsumoto-san," Hinamori greeted.

"Why so grumpy today?" the busty blonde asked. "That's not like you, Hinamori-chan."

"Shiro-chan doesn't tell me anything anymore," the girl complained. Matsumoto turned her sights on Hitsugaya. The boy really didn't like the expression on her face.

"So you made your friend cry?" she asked in her 'I'm the Third Seat here and you just made me mad' voice.

"But she isn't crying," Toushirou defended.

"She looks like she might," Rangiku retorted. Hitsugaya's first instinct was to cry 'not my fault,' but a piece of his mind told him that it was his fault.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Saying sorry when you made a girl cry isn't enough," Matsumoto lectured him. "You have to make it up to her."

"Make it up?" Toushirou questioned. A part of him was glad that there was a way to make everything better offered to him, but another was worried. What did this 'making up' entail?

"Yes," the busty blonde confirmed. "You have to take her shopping and buy her something nice. And then you take her to dinner in a classy restaurant and treat her to something good."

"Okay."

"And to make sure you won't mess it up," Rangiku continued, "I'll be supervising you."

.*****************************************************************************************.

It took Toushirou a little over an hour to decide that he utterly hated this 'making up' thingy. It was true that Hinamori soon forgot she was mad at him, but that had been five hours ago. And in Hitsugaya's humble opinion, that should have been the time they should have quit. But Hinamori and Matsumoto were walking along the street, chatting merrily, peeking at every shop window, commenting on the trinkets on display, trying on clothes and buying whatever caught their fancy using Hitsugaya's money. And then they made the boy carry everything. The mountain of bags they bought was already taller than him. But they wouldn't even hear of going home. The one time Toushirou dared to suggest it, Momo nearly cried again. He strongly suspected that she was acting, but Matsumoto scolded him so bad his ears nearly fell off. He didn't dare to speak up again.

The worst part came when they reached a stall selling hair clasps, combs, ribbons and bows. It started quite innocently. The girls began discussing the hair decorations, deciding which ones should they buy. Then Matsumoto picked up one she considered 'absolutely cute and adorable' and insisted Momo tried it. The younger girl liked the bow, but thought it didn't go well with her hair color. Matsumoto had to agree that she was right, but she didn't want to leave the bow behind. Unfortunately it clashed with her hair color too. And that was when she got the Idea of Doom, as Hitsugaya privately called it: _It would look good on Shiro-chan. _Hinamori immediately agreed that it would look great and when Toushirou tried to protest, she looked ready to cry. And that was how Hitsugaya ended up walking around Seireitei with a ribbon bow in his hair. He was expressly forbidden to remove it or Hinamori would cry. He felt so embarrassed he wanted to just sink into the ground. He blushed furiously as people stared at him, some of the commented how pretty the white-haired girl was and speculating what a beauty she would grow up into. He wanted to unleash Hyourinmaru's fury on them, but that would make Momo cry and he'd have to get through the ordeal again. Stupid Bed-Wetter.

He thought he had suffered through every humiliation the day had to offer, but then they ran into a bunch of shinigami from the Eleventh. And they recognized him. The snickering and sneering began immediately. They taunted that now he finally did what he should have from the beginning - a Fourth Division pack mule. Another commented that he always knew that Hitsugaya was a sissy. Third said that it's fitting he looks like a girl. Fourth commented that Yumichika would find him beautiful. Fifth said that it's good that he's shaming another division now. That was as much as Hitsugaya's patience could take.

He dropped all the bags to the ground, his reiatsu exploding out. The icy blast took everybody by surprise.

"Shiro-chan!" Momo shouted in surprise. The boy paid her no mind.

"So a sissy you say," he said as he marched toward the group of Eleventh Divisioners, who suddenly didn't look so confident. "I'll show you who's a sissy." He didn't have Hyourinmaru on him, but that didn't matter. He would prefer beating them into a pulp with his bare hands anyway. They were only low seated officers and unranked ones, so he should have no trouble.

"Enough!" an authoritative voice called. It stopped Hitsugaya in his tracks. Only then he realized that it belonged to Matsumoto. The Third Seat suddenly looked a head taller than she really was. The reiatsu she was emitting made her glow. "There won't be any fighting here. You," she pointed at the suddenly cowed group, "get lost." They obeyed hurriedly. Matsumoto looked truly fearsome at the moment. "And you," she turned to Hitsugaya. "Pick up the bags and follow us."

"Yes, madam," Hitsugaya nodded. He was intimidated by the woman too. He bent to pick up the discarded purchases.

"It's frozen," Momo commented dejectedly. She was right. When Hitsugaya had released his reiatsu, all the bags and packages were covered in a thick layer of frost.

"It will unfreeze again," Toushirou said.

"But it will get all soggy," Matsumoto pointed out. "Half of our things will be ruined. You have to buy us new ones." Hitsugaya wanted to protest, but the looks on the girls' faces made him swallow his words. And so his torment continued.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Compared to the chaos that was the Eleventh, life in the Third was quiet. Sometimes almost too quiet in Toushirou's opinion. He suddenly had free time and didn't know what to do with it. He trained with Hyourinmaru, but without the constant pressure of fighting with someone better than him the practice felt somehow dissatisfying. He reasoned that he was too used to the constant danger of the Eleventh and that he would return to normal in time, but so far it didn't happen.

During her next visit, he voiced his concerns to Hinamori. The girl didn't seem to understand what the problem was and told him that it would get better. Hitsugaya sighed. But then she asked how his Kidou was. After a practical competition, they determined that Hinamori's was superior. It was no wonder, she studied it at every opportunity while Hitsugaya had been neglecting it most of his time in the Eleventh. And so the challenge began: can Hitsugaya improve his Kidou to be on par with Hinamori's? Toushirou was determined to become even better. He didn't want to be shown up by some Bed-Wetter. Suddenly he had something to occupy his time again. He studied Kidou textbooks, practiced new spells and learned about new uses for the old ones. During the division training, he learned how to better integrate Kidou with his zanjutsu so he didn't have to stop in his tracks whenever he wanted to fire a spell. He felt he was improving fast again and that made him happy.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Snowie!" Hitsugaya had just enough time to cringe before a small weight landed on his back. Oh no. It looked that after a month, Yachiru finally found her way to the Third.

"Yachiru," he greeted, trying to sound happy.

"Come play!" the girl demanded. Playing with Yachiru wasn't his favorite pastime. He didn't mind that she wanted to fight, but the little girl usually managed to cause some disaster. Hitsugaya would rather avoid those. So far, he thought he had made a good impression on his new division and he would prefer it stayed that way. But Yachiru wasn't one to be easily deterred.

"Come play," she repeated pulling his hair painfully. Toushirou sighed. In the end, there was no arguing with Yachiru. Either you did whatever craziness she wanted you to do or you ended up very sore and had to do whatever she wanted anyway. There was always the distant chance of facing an angry Kenpachi if you resisted too much. It was said that it was possible to bribe Yachiru with candy until she forgot what she wanted to do (she had a short attention span), but Hitsugaya had no candy on him. That would be childish. Though, a traitorous voice in his head pointed out, being prepared for all eventualities wasn't childish. Disregarding safety precautions for the sake of appearances was. Hitsugaya told it to shut up.

"Okay," he agreed, not even bothering to sound enthusiastic. Yachiru didn't care. She just squealed happily.

"Yay! Go there!" she pointed, but Hitsugaya couldn't see where.

"Where?" he asked.

"There!" Yachiru repeated kicking him. Hitsugaya still didn't know where did she want to go, so he started straight ahead.

"Not there!" Yachiru stopped him by pulling his hair painfully. "There!" Hitsugaya turned left. It was the direction Yachiru usually wanted to go. Unfortunately this time was an exception. Toushirou cried out in pain when she almost pulled out his hair. "I said there! Are you stupid, Snowie?"

They were gathering onlookers. And amongst those onlookers was somebody Hitsugaya wished wouldn't have seen him in this predicament.

"You two look so cute together," Matsumoto cooed.

"Booby-chan!" Yachiru exclaimed. She forgot all about Hitsugaya and jumped at the Third Seat's shoulder. The boy decided that now was a good opportunity to sneak away, but Matsumoto noticed it.

"And where do you think you are going?" she called. "It's rude to walk away in the middle of a conversation, you know?" She grabbed Hitsugaya by his collar. "Your friend came to visit you all the way from the Eleventh so you have to entertain her."

What followed was something out of a nightmare. Matsumoto and Yachiru made a truly fearsome team. Both of them had minds working completely differently from a normal person and both prompted each other into higher levels of craziness. Hitsugaya wished for the good old days when Yachiru wanted only to fight him or ride piggyback. Now Matsumoto equipped with a set of markers and prompted her to give 'Snowie' a new make-up, completely ignoring Toushirou's protests. He later discovered that his new look was very hard to wash off. At least he didn't lose any hair, he tried to find some silver lining on this particular cloud. It was cold comfort. He could only hope that Yachiru's abysmal sense of direction would prevent her from visiting often.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Two months into his stay in the Third, the time for their Seated Officers' Exams came. Hitsugaya was of course taking them. He had no intentions to remain stuck as the Eighteenth Seat any longer than he absolutely had to. He was fairly certain that he was going to improve his rank, he knew his power and abilities were way above an Eighteenth Seat, but he still couldn't help but feel anxious. He had never competed in the Officers' Trials before. The Fourth didn't hold them, Unohana awarded rank based on the performance, and the Eleventh didn't hold them either, rank was awarded on whom you could beat in a fair fight. Hitsugaya wondered what did the Third decide promotions on. Would he have to fight? And what? Or would it be like a test back at the Academy? What could be the questions? And why was he so worked up about it? Even if he took the test in his sleep, there was no way he wouldn't gain a promotion. But he still felt his heart in his throat when the day of the exams came.

As it turned out, the exams had a bit of everything. They started with a written test. There were some questions on general knowledge, but most of them were about tactics and strategy. There were questions like: "You are a commander of a unit of ten unseated officers. There are three Hollows of average strength attacking a small settlement. What would you do?" or: "You are a commander of a unit of six low-seated officers. You lost contact with two of your subordinates in a forested area. What would you do?" Hitsugaya tried to imagine the situations and answer the question to his best. But sometimes he found it hard. There was too little information in the question that it could represent several different situations and each required a different action. Hitsugaya wondered whether it was due to the examiner being lousy while coming up with the questions or whether it was a part of the test. He decided to just list several possibilities depending on what the case was, like: "if the Hollows are close to each other, then..., if they are on different locations, then..., if two of them are together and the third is alone, then..." and so on.

Then suddenly the bell rang and Hitsugaya realized with a shock that there were still several questions he didn't get to. But he couldn't fill them now. The examiner was already collecting the papers. He had to hand in his and wonder how badly would the unanswered questions affect his score.

He wasn't allowed to muse about it for long. The examiner called them for the second test. It was Kidou. They were first asked to perform certain spells every officer should know. It was easy for Hitsugaya, thanks to all the time he had spent practicing with Hinamori. But he could see that some others had problems, especially with the higher level spells. After the compulsory portion that was the same for everybody, the examiners asked each of them to show something of their strongest Kidou. Hitsugaya showed a combination of Bakudou #63: Sajo Sabaku and Hadou 63#: Raikouhou, casting them both without incantation. He had learned it only recently and was grateful to Momo for helping him. The examiner looked impressed.

Third came a test of Hohou. It consisted of a short race to show how fast could they go and how far could they go in one step. Hitsugaya thought he did fine on this one.

Last part was a test of zanjutsu. It came in the form of a tournament. The participants were paired of randomly and had to fight. The winner than had to fight one of the other winners. Anything short of killing or maiming permanently the opponent was allowed.

Hitsugaya's first opponent was really week. The boy knocked him out two seconds after the examiner called "Begin!" That gave Hitsugaya the time to observe the other fights and wonder why did his first opponent think he could become a Seated Officer.

The second fight was harder. His opponent released right at the beginning and sent a gust of wind that cut his shihakushou into ribbons, covered his body in scratches and knocked him to the ground. But she made a mistake of thinking that it was enough to finish him off. Her eyes widened in surprise when the boy sprung to his feet and charge at her, using shunpo. She had just enough time to lift her sword in defense. She was able to block Hitsugaya's strike, but just barely. Hitsugaya quickly followed with another slash, not giving her the time to use her ability again. She soon realized she needed it, because Hitsugaya was clearly the superior swordsman. She shunpoed backwards, trying to gain enough breathing space to call her next attack, but Hitsugaya didn't give her the time. He shunpoed behind her and slammed her forearms with the flat side of Hyourinmaru as she was turning to face him. She dropped her sword with a pained yell. Hitsugaya placed his blade at her throat. The examined declared him the winner.

Hitsugaya looked at the state his clothes were in. They were completely destroyed, the ribbons threatening to trip him. He asked the examiner whether he could go change, but he was denied. As the examiner said, in war, there was no time to go and change into new clothes. If his shihakushou was destroyed, he just had to deal with it. Hitsugaya just sighed and tore off the sliced sleeves and most of his hakama. He didn't like being almost naked, but it was preferable to having his movements hindered in a fight. Then he used healing kidou to stop his bleeding.

Third fight came almost too soon. Hitsugaya's opponent was a big and burly man. The determined glint in his eyes reminded Hitsugaya of the members of the Eleventh. He assumed the man to be a physical fighter. Therefore he was surprised when the man opened the fight with firing Bakudou #62: Hyapporankan at him. It was all he could do to void all the glowing rods. And then he found himself in the path of Hadou #73: Souren Soukatsui the man had cast completely silently. _So this one is a Kidou master, _Hitsugaya thought as he shunpoed hastily out of the path of the spell. He still ended up being slightly singed, though it was nothing that would hinder him significantly. It just made his freshly-healed cuts sting.

As Hitsugaya slid out of his shunpo, he noticed that his opponent was now slouched slightly and panting. Casting two high-level spells without incantation must have taken a lot of him. Not being one to pass such opportunity, he quickly shunpoed next to the man and swung Hyourinmaru at him. And found himself flying thanks to a fist to his side.

_Damn, I could have realized it was a feint, _Hitsugaya thought as he rolled to his feet. He was just in time to avoid a Hadou #31: Shakkahou flying at him. "Byakurai!" he cried, trying to hit the big man with the white lightning, but the spell missed him narrowly. And it gave him enough time to shoot Hadou 33#: Soukatsui at Hitsugaya. This fight wasn't going well. Hitsugaya needed to change the tide and quickly.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru!" he called. He didn't want to resort to using his shikai, but he felt that this battle warranted it. He had run into a tough opponent here. The air around them chilled immediately. The big man shot a Hadou #32: Oukasen at Hitsugaya. The boy countered with an ice dragon. The ice projectile shattered the spell and continued on his path to the man. He had only the time to look surprised before it slammed into him, knocking him down. The fight was over. Hitsugaya won.

Hitsugaya's fourth opponent was wounded. His left arm was bandaged with a makeshift bandage made of his torn sleeve and he was favoring his right leg. His skin was pale and sweaty, hinting at blood loss. If he went to the Fourth for treatment, he would have to drop out of the tournament. Such were the rules. Yet he insisted on fighting. The sight made Hitsugaya grateful for his time spent in the Fourth. The ability to heal his wounds was a tremendous advantage. It became even more apparent during the fight. Hitsugaya attacked relentlessly, not giving the man a chance to try any tricks. The man blocked several times, but then his wounded leg gave out under him. He fell to the ground with a pained yell. Hitsugaya kicked his sword out of his hand. The fight was over.

By that time, only three competitors remained in the tournament. Lieutenant Iba, who was overseeing it, decided that they would fight in a three-way battle. Hitsugaya surveyed his opponents. One of them was a tall, thin man with a cloth headwear. The other was shorter and broader, with a scar on his forehead and a fresh wound in his side. It couldn't be deep, because he moved like it wasn't even there.

The three competitors stood in three corners of the arena, all of them alert and prepared to spring into action. Then Iba Chikane gave them the signal to begin.

Hitsugaya released his shikai right away. There was no need to hold back anymore. He saw the others doing the same. The scarred guy finished calling out his release first. He shunpoed close to Hitsugaya and swung his blade, which was now curved like a snake. Hitsugaya blocked. But as the two swords met, the snake-like weapon emitted a dark cloud. Hitsugaya, not expecting something like that, breathed it in. His lungs immediately burned. He couldn't breathe. And he sensed the guy with the cloth headwear behind him. So they were teaming up on him. It wasn't that surprising. They probably knew each other while he was a stranger to both of them.

Hitsugaya hastily shunpoed away, narrowly avoiding an attack from behind. He tried to breathe, but he could barely draw in any air and his lungs felt like they were on fire. And his two opponents were turning to him. Hitsugaya sent an ice dragon flying at them, but it was weak and slow. The pair dodged easily. The guy with the headcloth shunpoed close to Hitsugaya and attacked. His zanpakutou was a melee type, having the form of a long rod with sharp spikes protruding from it. Hitsugaya blocked, but he was still pushed backwards. Thanks to being unable to breathe, his strength was waning quickly.

He raised his reiatsu, in an attempt to push the opponent away. It worked only partially. The man with the headwear was forced to take a step back, but Hitsugaya began feeling lightheaded. His breathing didn't get any easier. He knew he was on the verge of fainting.

Then the scarred guy appeared and knocked down the man with the headcloth. He obviously hadn't expected it and went down like a sack of potatoes. And the scarred man probably thought that Hitsugaya in this state was no opponent. Well, the boy was determined to prove him wrong. He ignored the stars dancing in front of his eyes, gathered whatever strength he had left and sent an Ice dragon at the man. But after that his strength left him. His world turned into darkness.

.*****************************************************************************************.

When he woke up after the exams, he learned that his last attack had missed. The scarred man had won the tournament. Hitsugaya wasn't sure how he felt about it. On one hand, he was dismayed that he had lost, on the other he was glad that he got that far. But most prominently he wondered how did he do.

It took several days before the results of the exam were announced. The Seats everybody would be assigned didn't depend only on the results, but also on how the squads would be organized and which seats were already taken by more senior officers.

Hitsugaya was assigned Eleventh Seat. The explanation added to his promotion letter said that while he was powerful enough to hold a higher seat, he didn't show sufficient capability to lead. He didn't answer several of the important strategy questions, some of his answers were considered wrong and the fact that he ran out of time during the written portion of the test showed that he had trouble prioritizing his tasks. Hitsugaya didn't mind it too badly. He was promoted by seven ranks. Also he now outranked Sasaki, who didn't participate in the tests and stayed a Twelfth Seat. That made him the second-in-command of the Sixth unit, which brought new responsibilities. But he adjusted to them easily. Life soon became a routine again.

One day Hinamori arrived to their private Kidou competition in a foul mood. She insisted she was fine, but it was apparent in her stance and in the way she blew up the targets that she wasn't. Incidentally, that day Matsumoto decided to take part in their training too. When she saw the state Hinamori was in, she insisted Hitsugaya had to cheer her up, even when whatever was bothering her wasn't his fault. And so he was dragged on another of their dreaded shopping sprees. This time he was forced to try on an 'absolutely adorable cute little dress' that was too small for Hinamori to wear. Fortunately it was too big for him, otherwise the girls might have bought it. But Matsumoto still thought he looked absolutely adorable and nearly suffocated him in her boobs.

Aside from such incidents, that were happening with disturbingly increasing frequency despite Hitsugaya's complaints about authority abuse, life in the Third was fine.

.*****************************************************************************************.

It was Matsumoto's birthday. It had to be celebrated with a party. Well, everything in Matsumoto's life had to be celebrated with a party. That habit irked Iba-fukutaichou to no end. Hitsugaya sometimes wondered how she tolerated Matsumoto's habits. But this was her birthday and even the strict and proper lieutenant couldn't forbid her from having a party, a bigger one than her usual. All of her friends were invited. Starting with Lieutenant Ichimaru, continuing with half the SWA, including Momo, loads of other people Matsumoto knew, and Hitsugaya. The boy didn't know why he was supposed to come, but Matsumoto invited him and let him know that refusing wasn't an option. So one evening Toushirou found himself sitting in a busting hall, sipping on a cup of tea, watching the loud and drunk crowd, wondering what was he doing there and whether it would be rude to leave now.

Just when he decided to slip away, he was apprehended by one of the party guests.

"So yer the lil' one Ran-chan was talkin' about." Hitsugaya turned around to look into the grinning face of a young silver-haired man. He had met him only briefly before, but he immediately recognized him as Ichimaru-fukutaichou. That permanently-smiling face and closed eyes were distinctive. He wanted to tell the man what he thought about people calling him 'lil one,' but he didn't want to be rude to a superior officer.

"If you mean Matsumoto-sanseki, then yes," he answered stiffly. "She was probably talking about me."

"My, my," Gin cocked his head sideways. "Formal, aren't we?"

"It's the proper way to speak to superior officers," Hitsugaya replied. He wished the man would leave him alone. He didn't like the expression on his face. Like he was up to no good. And according to some of the rumors he had heard about him, Lieutenant Ichimaru had a mean streak.

"There's no need to be so cold, Hitsu-chan," the silver-haired man grinned. Hitsugaya groaned inwardly. It looked like the vice-captain had no intention of leaving.

"I apologize if I offended you."

"I told ya, ya don't 'ave ta be so formal," Gin said.

"I prefer it this way," Toushirou replied. He prayed that his attitude would drive the Fifth Division fukutaichou away. Unfortunately for him, Ichimaru was used to being around people who didn't want him around and weren't as shy about showing it as Hitsugaya.

"Ya need to loosen up, kid," Ichimaru said as seriously as was humanely possible while having a huge grin plastered on his face. Hitsugaya scowled. "If ya scowl like this, yer gonna have wrinkles," Gin informed him. Hitsugaya scowled harder. Ichimaru grabbed his cheeks and pulled, trying to widen his mouth into a smile. Toushirou shrieked and tried to pry his hands off his face. Ichimaru actually let him go. "Now, do it yerself," he commanded.

"I don't feel like smiling," Hitsugaya snapped.

"Ya should try it sometimes, it's fun," Ichimaru insisted.

"Excuse me, I will take my leave now," Toushirou said standing up. Gin grabbed his shoulder.

"Not so fast, the party barely started." Hitsugaya tried to get free, but the lieutenant held him tight. Then he pushed at his shoulder, forcing him to sit down again. "'ave a drink!"

"I don't drink," the boy replied, staring at the offered cup like it might explode in his face.

"Nonsense," Ichimaru commented. "Ya 'ave ta drink at a party. What else is a party for?"

"I don't drink," Toushirou repeated.

"But ya should," Gin grinned. "Or do I 'ave ta make ya?" He looked like he would totally do it and enjoy it very much. Hitsugaya's thoughts turned back to The Incident at the Eleventh Division. There was no way he was touching alcohol ever again.

He noticed Ichimaru's fingers loosening on his shoulder for a moment. He took the opportunity gladly. With a swift movement, he freed himself from the lieutenant's grip and shunpoed to the door. He reached to open them.

"Shiro-chan?" _Oh no. Why did I have to run into Hinamori now? _He turned around slowly, looking into his friend's wide brown eyes. "Where are you going now? We haven't talked properly yet. And you haven't met all my friends." At that moment, Hitusgaya knew that he couldn't escape. But at least he wasn't with Ichimaru anymore. He allowed the girl to lead him back to the center of the room.

Ichimaru watched them through his slitted eyes. He could tell what Ran-chan saw in the brat. But he was too stiff for her. He needed to loosen up. The lieutenant grinned wide. Spiking his tea was going to be much fun.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya followed Hinamori obediently as she dragged him around the room, introducing him to her various friends. It was all a big jumble of sights and names for him. He was sure that if asked, he wouldn't be able to attach a single name to a face correctly. But he didn't dare to get away and retreat to his room. He was afraid that if he let go of her hand, he'd lose the only stable point in the wildly swaying world and never find his way anywhere.

"And this is Lieutenant Isogai Rumiko and Fourth Seat Ise Nanao. Both are from the Eighth Division," Hinamori just introduced a pair of her friends. Hitsugaya squinted. All he could tell was that there was an awful lot of dark-haired girls with glasses.

"Are you twins?" he asked.

"Of course not," Hinamori answered. "The two of them look nothing alike."

"And the other two?" he questioned.

"What other two?" Rumiko looked around. Hinamori looked at Hitsugaya intently, for the first time noticing his flushed cheeks.

"Are you drunk, Shiro-chan?" she scowled.

"Course not!" he protested. "Drank only tea!"

"It's a party!" Isogai-fukutaichou shouted cheerfully. "Everybody should be drunk." Ise Nanao looked at her disapprovingly. "Come and have a drink with us, little one! And you too, Momo!" Hinamori wanted to protest, but the lieutenant grabbed her wrist and dragged her down to sit beside her. Momo in turn dragged Toushirou with her. Then Isogai put a full sake cup in front of her and ordered her to have a toast with her. Hinamori couldn't refuse.

They progressed to get drunk while talking about every little things starting with boys (which made Hitsugaya want to run, but Hinamori was still holding him without realizing it), to their careers (Hinamori boasted making Ninth Seat recently and teased Hitsugaya mercilessly about outranking him), to boasting about how powerful they were. That was prompted by Hitsugaya protesting Hinamori's claim of being better than him based on their rank. And because three of the people gathered around the table were Kidou specialists, the discussion soon turned into boasting shamelessly about their achievements in the field of Demon Arts. It started with believable claims ("I found a new use for Bakudou #19"), continued with less believable, but still plausible claims ("I can cast Hadou #52 without incantation!"), progressed to even less believable claims ("I can use four spells at once"), and reached the field of completely unbelievable ("I can cast level 90 kidou without incantation in my sleep.") Considering how drunk the participants were at the point, the discussion didn't stop there.

It was Hinamori who first mentioned working on a new Kidou.

"It will be spectacular!" she announced. "It combines the advantages of Hadou #45 and Bakudou #21!" This could make sense only to a completely inebriated person.

"Tcha," Isogai scoffed. "You're still working on it. I finished my own Kidou last year! And it's in the eighties level!"

"Amateur," a now drunk Nanao commented. "I could develop new Kidou at the Academy. I did it as my extra-curricular project."

Hitsugaya, by this time completely sloshed, didn't want to be left behind.

"That's nothing!" he boasted. "I can develop a new kidou in under a minute!"

"That's impossible!" Momo protested.

"Nobody can do that," Rumiko added.

"Especially drunk," Nanao remarked.

"But I can do it!" Hitsugaya insisted. "Just watch me! Great Lord! Seeping darkness! Luminescent Seawall!"

"Stop it!" Nanao shouted in fright. Toushirou ignored her completely.

"Bright star of the east! Fire of the north! Sword in the castle!"

"I said stop!" Nanao shouted again, this time more frantically, standing up to stop him physically, but Rumiko restrained her.

"Just let him."

"Cold ash and... and a worm! Hollowed skull and empty room! Make everything go boom boom! Hadou #137: Kaboom!"

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya woke up in the hospital. Everything hurt. Especially his hands. He tried moving his fingers experimentally and immediately wished he didn't. The pain that shot through them nearly knocked him out. He bit his lip, trying not to cry out and waited for the pain to subside. When it was on manageable level again, he opened his eyes.

He wasn't alone in the room. He recognized the people around him as those who had been at the party yesterday. Did they all have so bad hangovers that they had to be hospitalized? And what had happened to him?

"Nice of you to wake up finally," somebody commented in an unfriendly voice. Hitsugaya turned his head in the direction. It immediately began pounding. Just what had happened to him? He squinted a bit until the face of the speaker came into focus.

"Inose-san?" he asked. "What's the matter?"

"What's the matter? You ask what's the matter?" Hitsugaya cringed. It was too loud. And now he thought about it, the light seemed a bit too bright too, considering the curtains on the window were shut. That sensation reminded him of something. He had felt it during his time in the Eleventh, the morning after Yumichika, Ikkaku and Abarai had force-fed him sake. But he couldn't be hungover now. He had drunk only tea yesterday. He was positive about it. And simple hangover didn't explain everything that hurt him now.

"So what's the matter?" Toushirou asked. He remembered the party and how everything swayed, meaning that he had been drunk though he didn't remember ingesting any alcohol, but he couldn't recall anything that could have landed them in the hospital.

"Were you so drunk you can't remember?" Inose asked.

"Probably," Hitsugaya replied. "But I can't remember drinking."

"To a lightweight like you a cup would be enough," the man scoffed.

"But I can't remember even the cup," the boy informed him.

"And I guess you can't remember what you did too."

"What did I do?" Hitsugaya asked worriedly. It sounded like it was something really bad.

"You only blew up the mess hall," Inose informed him. "It's completely totaled. I heard some of the roof tiles were found as far as the Second Division grounds."

"I did?" Hitsugaya asked. What did he do? He had been talking with Hinamori and their friends and they had begun boasting about Kidou and... oh, that was it. He must have been drunk out of his mind to try to create a new Kidou. Only he still couldn't recall ingesting a single drop of alcohol.

"Yes, you did," Inose confirmed. "Everybody who's been there is in the hospital now."

"Has anybody been hurt?" Toushirou asked in a small voice.

"Are you deaf or dumb? I just told you everybody is in here."

"I mean, was anybody hurt badly?" Hitsugaya rephrased the question.

"I'm not sure," the man shrugged, "but some girls were hit pretty bad."

_Oh no, _Hitsugaya thought. That must have been those three that had been talking with him. Momo was one of them. What had happened to her? Did he hurt her? Will she be alright?

"And Hinamori? What's with Hinamori?"

"Who?" Inose asked disinterestedly. "Sorry, I don't know any Hinamori. You have to ask the doctors. And why should I tell you anything?"

"Sorry," Hitsugaya said.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it. We're all here thanks to you."

"I'm very sorry."

"I told you 'sorry' isn't enough," Ichinose retorted angrily.

"I see you are awake finally," Kira's voice announced from the door. Everybody's head snapped in that direction. The blond walked into the room. His eyes surveyed the patients inside. The look he shot Hitsugaya was definitely unfriendly. Toushirou's heart clenched. If Kira was looking at him like this, did it mean that Hinamori was hurt badly?

"How's Hinamori?" he blurted out. Kira shot him an icy glare.

"She'll be alright, no thanks to you." Hitsugaya sighed in relief. Momo was going to be alright. That was all that mattered.

"But it was a close call," Kira continued. Hitsugaya's heart clenched again. "If Unohana-taichou wasn't present to treat her, her face could have been scarred horribly."

"I'm sorry," Hitsugaya said. He felt so utterly guilty and ashamed that he wanted to just sink into the floor. Hinamori had been hurt badly and it was his fault. She could have been scarred permanently and it would have been his fault.

"You have a lot to be sorry for," Kira said. "But I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"Where is Hinamori?" Toushirou wanted to know.

"Room 421," Kira answered, "but I don't think she'd like to see you now." Hitsugaya just nodded. He waited patiently while Kira checked them all over (making the procedure especially uncomfortable for Hitsugaya), and once the blond left, he pushed himself off the bed and ran towards room 421, ignoring his pain and discomfort. He saw Hinamori lying on the bed. He vaguely recognized her roommates as Isogai and Ise. He paid the two Eighth Division members no attention and fell to his knees in front of Momo's bed.

"I'm sorry!" he called. "I... I don't know what got into me, but I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I blew everything up. I won't do it again." He fell silent, staring into the ground, waiting for her response. The seconds tickled by slowly. It felt like an eternity before Hinamori answered.

"Shiro-chan," she said. For once, Hitsugaya didn't even feel like protesting the nickname. "I'm not mad at you."

"I know what I did is unforgivable but..." Hitsugaya started, but Momo's laughter interrupted him.

"I said I wasn't mad at you, silly."

"You aren't?" he asked in disbelief, lifting his head.

"No," she shook her head. "Everybody is going to be alright, so nothing happened." Hitsugaya didn't understand it. Momo wasn't mad? He remembered how she had scolded him when he had neglected to tell her about his transfer and now she laughed off that he almost blew her up? He'd never understand girls.

"But you were hurt."

"I've been hurt before," she shrugged. "And besides, I've seen you drunk before. I shouldn't have let you go to the party." Hitsugaya didn't like that she spoke like he was a kid unable to make decisions for himself, but he couldn't help but agree that it would have been better if he didn't come. But Matsumoto had insisted.

"I didn't drink," he said. "Well, I don't remember drinking."

"But you were pretty drunk when you talked to us," Isogai said.

"That's what I don't understand," Toushirou replied. "I'm sure I didn't touch a cup of sake and I still ended up drunk."

"Maybe somebody spiked your drink," Rumiko suggested. "Either that or you got drunk on the smell of sake."

"Maybe. I'd like to know who it was." Hitsugaya was imagining what he would do to the culprit if he ever found him or her. The only suspect he could think of was Matsumoto, he didn't know anyone else crazy enough, but he wasn't sure about her guilt. She treated him like a child. She wouldn't slip him alcohol.

"Don't take it too hard, kid," Lieutenant Isogai continued. "I know many people who do worse things while drunk. You know, Nanao here once bet that she could create a new Kidou while drunk too."

"That's not true!" Ise protested.

"It is," Rumiko retorted. "But the results weren't as spectacular. It just didn't work."

At that time, a nurse peeked into the room and immediately realized that Hitsugaya wasn't supposed to be there. She grabbed the boy and dragged him back to his own room, ignoring his protests. Toushirou once again was stuck in the same room with the man who was so angry at him. But he felt better now. Hinamori was alright and she wasn't mad at him. That was what mattered.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Once everybody was released from the hospital, Matsumoto insisted that Hitsugaya had to make up for the mess, big time. Toushirou, feeling ashamed of himself, didn't even think of protesting. So the next day the group that had been boasting about Kidou met again and joined by Matsumoto, they headed towards the shopping district. What followed was the longest marathon of shopping he had ever been through. Not only did he have to buy and carry everything that struck the girls' fancy, and there was a lot of it, he also was forced to try most of it on. Before the day ended, he trailed behind the four females dressed like a geisha, complete with the makeup and pimped-out hairstyle. That drew a lot of attention from the passersby, who stopped and asked who was the cute little girl and why was she heaving all the baggage. It made Hitsugaya want to melt into the ground even more than he already did. Only his sense of guilt prevented him from running or freezing everybody around.

That was still nothing compared to how angry Iba Chikane was. This wasn't the Eleventh, so structural damage to the barracks was taken seriously. Hitsugaya at first thought that she was going to strip him of his rank and assign him to cleaning the latrines for the rest of his life. In the end it wasn't so bad. She only yelled at him until he thought his ears were going to fall off, cut his salary in half to pay for the repairs of the broken room, and assigned him for the worst duties she could find. Somebody had to keep watch a whole night in the cold and rain on a spot a Hollow might potentially appear? Hitsugaya was that guy. Somebody had to look for a Hollow in the middle of a swamp? Again, Toushirou had to swim through the mud. Somebody had to clean up the rubble after a battle? Call Hitsugaya to do it. The boy didn't dare to protest, but after a couple of months he was slowly getting fed up with it.

And Matsumoto decided he needed to cheer up and organized him a party. No alcohol this time, at least for him, because there was no way she was staying sober during a party, but plenty of people who couldn't tell the difference between him and a dress-up doll. Namely her, Hinamori and Yachiru. In the end, everybody got cheered up except Hitsugaya, who wished he could become invisible and finally remove the bows from his hair. He was fully determined never to attend any party Matsumoto attended again, but unfortunately for him, the woman held the higher rank and wasn't ashamed to pull it. She certainly wasn't ashamed of some blatant power abuse.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He felt like he couldn't stand another of Matsumoto's 'parties.' In fact, he would do almost anything to escape her presence. Therefore when he heard that one of their officers scheduled to go on a patrol to the Living World got into a bar brawl at the last moment and was so injured he wasn't able to leave, he immediately volunteered to take his place. Lieutenant Iba was just happy she found some suitable replacement in time and sent him on the way immediately. When he walked through the Senkaimon, Hitsugaya congratulated himself on escaping Matsumoto successfully. Looking at the surrounding lush jungle, he decided he liked this place, even if it was too hot for his tastes. There was plenty of water around, the flowers were blooming, the wildlife was frolicking around, the mosquitoes were pesky, but they couldn't touch his spiritual body. Yes, this place was nearly idyllic. Then he felt the presence of a Hollow and sprung into action. A few quick shunpo brought him to the creature and one swing of his zanpakutou disposed of it. And then he realized that his new assignment wasn't going to be a walk in the park after all. There were pluses everywhere. They were all deceased recently, as was evident from the still bleeding bodies strewn across the ground. And their weapons and camouflage clothing let him know what was going on here: he was in the middle of a warzone. He sighed. Warzones were troublesome. Lots of dead who couldn't find their rest without assistance. Lots of Hollows who would be attracted to them. And they might be even the more powerful ones, because there was food aplenty. Lots of forgotten spirits who would turn into new Hollows. He had his work cut out for him. _I should better begin, _he thought and started with the Konsou. It was going to be a very long month.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The first two weeks of his month-long assignment were hectic, but uneventful. He had his hands full running all around the place, performing Konsou, making sure he didn't miss any soul (some of them were in really strange places), and fighting the small-fry Hollows attracted by the feast laid before them. It was at the beginning of the third week when trouble happened. That day, one of the warring sides got bored of the stalemate and called in for air support. Ten minutes of bombing later, there were so many plus souls around the battlefield that it would take Hitsugaya a week to bury them all. Even when he began immediately, he knew that he had no chance to make it before the Hollows would be lured in. And he was right. It took less than a minute before the first Garganta opened. The Hollow that climbed out of it was small and weak and Hitsugaya dispatched it with one swing of his blade, but soon others followed. They were stronger and there were more of them. Hitsugaya felt that this might be a good time to call for reinforcements. But there was one little problem: If he stopped fighting even for a moment, the Hollows would immediately overwhelm him. _I should have called the moment the bombing started, _he thought, but now was too late to change it. He had to fight.

His only hope was in the fact that many of the Hollows were more interested in the fresh souls than in him. If all of them ganged up on him, he would have been dead meat. This way he had to fight only those who liked the taste of shinigami flesh the most. It was still an awful load of Hollows, but he was somehow managing. He had released his shikai at the beginning of the fight and now dark grey clouds were covering the sky and it was snowing heavily. A part of Hitsugaya's mind not preoccupied with survival wondered what the humans in the area were thinking when it suddenly started snowing in the middle of a tropical jungle.

The fight was progressively getting tougher. The more reiatsu was released, the more and more powerful Hollows were attracted. Hitsugaya knew that it was just a matter of time before he would be overwhelmed. Even now he was barely holding his own. The five giant Hollows surrounding him were tough. One of them even withstood a hit with his ice dragon to the edge of its mask. But the pain made it attack blindly its neighbor and that was the only thing that saved Hitsugaya from being hit by a volley of poisonous spikes to the back. He used the momentary confusion to shunpo on the shoulder of one of the opponents and slice its head in two. The Hollow disintegrated into spirit particles. The boy used the brief reprieve to summon a Hell Butterfly, wishing that somebody would invent a faster way of communication. But before he could begin his message, he got nearly blindsided by another Hollow's attack. As he dodged frantically, he saw the butterfly being torn to pieces. He had a sudden feeling of déjà-vu. He was truly alone here.

He barely blocked a vicious claw swipe from another opponent. The Hollow looked like a scorpion, reminding him of the very first Hollow he had fought. The moment of distraction cost him. Sharp pain shot through his side. He screamed. His reiatsu froze the Hollow's stinger and it shattered, but the damage was already done. The wound was deep and painful enough to hinder Hitsugaya's movements severely. And the smell of blood attracted more hungry Hollows, who abandoned pursuit of the dead soldiers and turned to him instead. With a jolt, Hitsugaya realized that there was no way he could defeat them all. _I'm going to die here, _he thought. He remembered Momo's tale about her first field trip. Now he knew how she felt when they were suddenly surrounded by the swarm of giant Hollows. But back then, the senior student had called for help and Captain Aizen and Lieutenant Ichimaru arrived and saved them. He would give anything if they appeared now. Even if he didn't like them. But he knew that nobody would be saving him. He was going to get eaten by a Hollow in the next minute.

"_**Child,"**_ Hyourinmaru spoke in his mind. _**"We aren't defeated yet."**_

"_Oh? Do you have some super powerful technique you've been hiding from me and decided to reveal it now?"_

"_**Not exactly, but there is still something we can do."**_

"_What?" _Hitsugaya felt a sliver of hope again. He couldn't decide whether it was a good thing or whether it would just hurt more when it would get inevitably crushed.

"_**We still have power left. If we use it all now,**__** joined together, we can freeze the immediate area along with all Hollows there."**_

"_There will still be plenty of them left."_

"_**That's true, but it will buy us time."**_

"_For what? We cannot win this battle."_

"_**Running."**_

"_I'd never expect you to suggest something like that," _the boy said remembering the times Hyourinmaru scolded him for running from trouble.

"_**Even I can recognize a hopeless battle**__**, child."**_

"_Then let's do it. How do I begin?"_

"_**Open yourself to me, more than you ever did. Give me all your power and I'll give you all mine."**_

"_Alright."_

Hitsugaya had only a vague idea what he was supposed to do, but the moment he felt Hyourinmaru's spirit so close to his own, he suddenly just knew. The process was hard to describe. Then suddenly there was power. Hitsugaya felt it flowing through him. He reached into the deepest corners of his soul for more. He felt Hyourinmaru doing the same. At that moment, it didn't seem strange that he was able to. The zanpakutou spirit was closer to him than ever before.

He opened his eyes. He didn't even remember closing them. The jungle around them had turned into a frozen wasteland. Only the strongest Hollows were still surviving there. The weaker ones had been turned into ice. Hitsugaya swung his blade and the closest of the giant Hollows was smashed into pieces by his ice dragon. The second swing dispatched another one. The third Hollow, seeing the fate of his fellows, turned tail and ran. Hitsugaya smiled at the sight.

Then he felt pain in his side again and weakness began settling into his body. The energy they used was running out.

"_**Hurry," **_Hyourinmaru reminded him. Hitsugaya nodded. With suddenly shaky hands he thrust his sword into the air and turned.

"Unlock," he whispered. The air shivered and the familiar double sliding doors appeared. Hitsugaya watched as the Senkaimon slowly opened. He cast a glance over his shoulder. Most of the Hollows had been cowed by his display of power, but the braver ones were already advancing on him. And another Garganta was opening above them. This one was bigger than all the previous ones. As the sky was torn open, a giant, grotesque, clownish face appeared. Hitsugaya's eyes widened. A Menos Grande! If he had to face that, he'd stand no chance.

The Gillian began climbing into this world, but at the moment black wings fluttered near Hitsugaya's face. The Senkaimon was open. The boy waited for nothing and jumped into the tunnel. Running was against his instincts as a shinigami, but he realized that the best thing he could do now was to bring help. Preferably some captains.

The walk through the tunnel seemed long, probably because he was barely dragging his feet. But he had to keep following the black butterfly, or he'd be stuck in Dangai forever. Then the gate on the other side finally appeared. Hitsugaya walked through it and collapsed to his knees on the other side. The guards were immediately at his side.

"Who are you?" one asked authoritatively. Nobody was supposed to come through the gate at this time.

"What happened?" asked the other one worriedly upon spotting Hitsugaya's wound.

"Hollows," the boy answered. "Lots of them. And a Menos. Need reinforcements." Then his strength failed him. He fell to the ground, passing out almost immediately.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He awoke in the Fourth Division. He felt tired and week and his side still hurt. But he wasn't surrounded by hungry Hollows anymore and that was what counted. That brought his thoughts back to the battle. He had nearly died there. The thought left him shaken. He had thought he was good, but yesterday (or whenever it was) slammed home the point that all his progress wasn't enough. A routine mission had almost cost his life. Granted, this was classified as a potentially dangerous assignment, but he still should have been able to complete it. Instead he ended up running. He sighed. He hoped he wouldn't get in too much trouble for abandoning his post. Technically, it was breaking an order. But sure the circumstances warranted a consideration? There was a freaking Menos there on top of all the giant and regular Hollows. If he had stayed even ten seconds longer, he would have died. Everybody had to understand that. Though with the Soul Society authorities one couldn't be sure. But there was nothing he could do about that now.

His thoughts returned to the battle. When he remembered his mad dance between the claws, spiky tails and jets of acidic poison, he was amazed he had lasted so long. For most shinigami, that would be enough. But Toushirou didn't feel the same way. He should have been better. He remembered how hard he used to train during his time in the Eleventh. Despite everything he didn't like there, he couldn't deny the skills acquired there. When he had transferred to the Third, he had been glad that he was finally among (mostly) normal and sane people. But now he realized that it had a drawback: there was nothing driving him to train so hard. Granted, he had learned a lot of new kidou and how to integrate it with his fighting style, but yesterday it did him no good. He didn't have the time to make the required hand gestures and call the name of the spell. He couldn't even think about saying the incantations. There was time only for swordwork and his skills with his blade hadn't improved much since he had left the Eleventh. He'd have to up his training again. But there were that many skilled swordsmen in the Third who had the time for the insane training regimes a la the Eleventh. That would present a problem. But what else could he do? Ask somebody from the Eleventh? Not a good idea. It was true that they never refused a fight, but most of them also disliked him. They were almost guaranteed to do something nasty. But maybe he should try it anyway.

He was snapped from his musings by the sound of the door opening. He saw Matsumoto's familiar figure leaning on the frame.

"So you're finally awake," she commented.

"I am," Hitsugaya confirmed. "Have I been out for that long?"

"Two days," the woman answered walking into the room. Now Hitsugaya could see the bandages covering her arms and torso.

"What happened?" he asked worriedly.

"Lot of things," the blonde replied, her face and voice uncharacteristically serious. That got Hitsugaya really worried. "Boy, I don't understand how did you survive that mess."

"I wonder myself," Toushirou muttered. "And what do you know about that mess?"

"Well," she began, "after you collapsed at the Senkaimon, the two guys reported there was an emergency and Iba-fukutaichou and I went to deal with it." Hitsugaya inhaled in shock.

"I told them there was a Menos there."

"You did?" Matsumoto questioned. "They certainly didn't mention any." Hitsugaya silently cursed those two morons. "So we were surprised when we ran into one. And I don't remember the last time I saw so many Hollows in one place. We called for reinforcements immediately, but we had to hold out before they arrived. It was tough. We survived only because the Menos was more interested in other Hollows than us. Both I and Chikane were injured. I thought we were goners when the reinforcements finally arrived. Captain Kyouraku and Lieutenant Isogai. Shunsui's really good, even if he doesn't look that part. He got the Menos in one strike. But there were still many Hollows left. They killed Rumiko before we could get them all." Hitsugaya grimaced. He didn't really know the Eight Division Lieutenant, he had only met her briefly at Matsumoto's birthday party. "She stopped to fire a high-level Hadou and completely missed the Hollow creeping at her from behind. I glimpsed it for a moment, but I was too busy with my own opponents to do anything about it." Hitsugaya was a bit creeped out at how this supported his earlier thoughts about the uselessness of Kidou in battle. If even a master was killed during casting, what chances would he have?

"What about everybody else?" he asked.

"I have just flesh wounds," Rangiku answered. "I'll be back on active duty in a few days. Chikane has only a few scratches and is already back to commanding the division. Shunsui is unhurt, but he's sad he lost another fukutaichou. He's looking for a replacement. I think Nanao will get it." Hitsugaya remembered his meeting with the petite Fourth Seat. He showed the memories of That Incident aside and concentrated at what he knew about the girl. Kidou mistress, dark hair and glasses, just like Isogai. It made him wonder whether Captain Kyouraku choose his lieutenants for their ability or appearance. Thinking back on what did the Eight Division Captain write on his application, he wouldn't be surprised if it was the second.

"It was terrible back there," Matsumoto said with a faraway look in her eyes. "Especially the Menos. It's been years since one appeared. How did you even survive it?"

"I'm amazed myself," Hitsugaya replied.

"The Menos could swat you like a fly."

"It was a good thing I was already opening the Senkaimon when it appeared," Toushirou explained.

"That explains it," Matsumoto nodded. "But it still doesn't explain how you lasted in the swarm of Hollows."

"I just cut everything that came too close," Hitsugaya replied. "Nothing complicated."

"You say nothing complicated?" She raised an eyebrow. "Lieutenants had trouble there."

"So did I."

"Boy, just how good are you?" She looked at him intently. It was different from the looks she had given him before. This time she wasn't pondering which bow would look the cutest in his hair, this time she was appraising him as a serious shinigami.

"I'm not sure myself," he shrugged.

"You're certainly wasted as an Eleventh Seat."

"You think I have a chance of promotion?" he asked her skeptically. "Seats Ten and up have more responsibilities than the others and they also have to represent the division. They have to be manned with serious experienced shinigami who won't embarrass the whole division, not little brats who blow up roofs and can't stay in the same division for any length of time. That's why I was Eleventh Seat first place."

"I didn't realize that," Matsumoto answered.

"Maybe you should pay attention to your paperwork sometimes," Hitsugaya advised. Matsumoto's slacking was legendary in the Third. "You might pick some interesting information there."

"Maybe," she shrugged, "but it isn't worth the effort. But I'm going to ask Chikane to promote you to a position you deserve."

"You don't have to bother," Hitsugaya replied. He was already determined to leave.


	9. Stretching the wings

**Author's note:** So the promised chapter is finally here. As with my previous chapters, there's an illustration on my DA profile. Link is on my author's profile page, for those who forgot.

Also, in this chapter, we reach the halfway mark of this story. I plan it to have 17 or maybe 18 chapters in total. Next chapter shouldn't take too long to upload, probably two weeks again (I'm still stuck on chapters 11 and 12.)

That being said, read and enjoy.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**On the Frozen Plain – Stretching the wings**

After much careful consideration, he decided that there was one division that specialized in the two areas of shinigami combat he hadn't studied in depth before – Hohou and Hakuda. And both of the skills were very useful in the kind of situation he had found himself in during his last assignment in the Living World. Especially Hohou. Though his shunpo wasn't bad, he knew that there was much space for improvement. And Hakuda was something he had never paid much attention to, always thinking that he wouldn't need it as long as he had his zanpakutou. But maybe that had been a mistake. What if somebody managed to wrench his sword from his hand? Hakuda would come useful. So that was why he sent his application to the Second. It was approved soon.

The first thing Hitsugaya noticed about his new division was that they had the best barracks he had ever seen. Every part of them looked new, there weren't any signs of age and use to be seen. There were also more decorations than he was used to. And his new room was the best he had ever lived in. Though he was never one much for luxury, he decided he liked it here.

The second thing he noticed was that people here tended to be more business-like than he was used to. The Third was more easy-going, the Eleventh was all about fun (or their idea of 'fun'), and the Fourth was all about avoiding the Eleventh and their idea of fun. The Second was composed mostly of serious, strict people who tended to frown at anyone they didn't consider a 'serious shinigami.' Hitsugaya didn't look much like a serious shinigami, so he found himself on the receiving end of many condescending glares the moment he walked through the door. He disliked it immediately. But he hoped he might be able to change their minds with his performance.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He really didn't want to be anywhere near the Fifth Division's barracks, but he had promised Momo that he would tell her whenever he transferred divisions and he thought that she would be insulted if he sent her a Hell Butterfly. So here he was, walking through the corridors and hoping that Hinamori wasn't anywhere near Aizen. He wasn't in the mood to watch her swoon over him.

He was lucky. Hinamori was in the training grounds, explaining some younger shinigami the finer points of Kidou. He waited until she ended the training, which thankfully didn't take long. The training was over and Hinamori dismissed her students. Hitsugaya walked to her.

"Shiro-chan!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't call me Shiro-chan," he scowled. He'd never get used to the childish nickname. "And I came to visit you. Is that so strange?"

"You never just come to visit," Momo pointed out. "In fact, you never come to visit at all." Hitsugaya blushed a bit. That was true.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. He hoped he wouldn't be forced into another 'making up' torture, but that seemed unlikely when Matsumoto wasn't his direct superior anymore and couldn't pull rank on him.

"I'm not angry," the girl sighed, but she didn't sound happy either. "I know you were never much for socializing. You never played with Tecchin and A-chan." Hitsugaya's grimace was fortunately lost on Hinamori. "So why did you come today?"

"Well," Hitsugaya didn't know how to begin, "do you remember how you made me promise to tell you if I transferred divisions?"

"Yes," she nodded absently before a look of comprehension and then shock appeared on her face. "Don't tell me you changed divisions again?"

"Well," Toushirou shrugged, "in that case I won't tell you."

"You did transfer again, didn't you?" It wasn't really a question. "Why do you do it, Shiro-chan?" she sighed in exasperation. "You've been in the Gotei 13 for three years and you have already transferred three times. What will people think? They'll say you're some kind of trouble-maker if you can't stay in the same division for two whole years. Why did you transfer this time? Did you do something to get kicked out?"

"No," Hitsugaya shook his head. "I didn't get into any trouble."

"So did you do it on your own?" Hinamori questioned. "Why? Didn't you like the Third? It's such a nice and quiet division."

"It is," Hitsugaya agreed.

"So why did you transfer?" she demanded. _Aside from Matsumoto thinking I was a dress-up doll? _Hitsugaya thought, but he couldn't say that aloud.

"I felt like I needed a change."

"You felt like you needed a change?" Hinamori echoed, her tone conveying her opinion. Hitsugaya nodded.

"I was growing complacent there. My skills weren't improving as fast as they should."

"But you are already good and you're progressing well. I know it from our Kidou training!" Hinamori objected.

"It isn't enough," Hitsugaya stated. "On my last mission I almost died."

"What?" Momo exclaimed. "What happened? Why didn't you tell me?"

"It happened recently. On an assignment in the Real World, I got surrounded by a swarm of Hollows. There was no time to fire a Kidou. I could only slash and hack at everything that came close. And my slashing and hacking wasn't good enough. In the end, all I could do was run. After that, I concluded that I didn't need better Kidou, but better zanjutsu and Hakuda and Hohou."

"Oh. Well... that sounds reasonable," Hinamori admitted. "I couldn't bear to see you die. If you feel like you need to improve, then I'm all for it. So where did you transfer?"

"The Second."

"The Second?" Momo questioned.

"Yes," Hitsugaya confirmed. "They specialize in Hakuda and Hohou. Both are skills that come handy when surrounded by multiple enemies."

"I can't argue with that," Hinamori sighed, "but don't you know what they say about the Second?"

"I do," he nodded, "but the Second isn't the Onmitsukidou, no matter what people think."

"But it's close to it."

"Don't worry, Momo, I'm not going to join the Punishment Corps," Hitsugaya assured her.

"I can't imagine you as a ninja," she said with a grin suggesting that she was trying to imagine so and failing.

"I can't imagine myself as one too, so don't worry about me," he assured her.

"You know I can't help it."

"I know," he smiled.

"I just hope you'll improve soon. Then you can join me in the Fifth." Hitsugaya nearly rolled his eyes. That again? Would Momo ever let it go?

"I'll do everything in my power to improve soon," he promised. That one was sincere. He just hoped Hinamori wouldn't inquire about the second part of her request.

"Good luck, Toushirou," the girl smiled.

"Good luck to you too."

.*****************************************************************************************.

Though the Second had close ties to the Onmitsukidou, they didn't actually do their job. The Second's duties were the same as most of the other Gotei 13 divisions': performing Soul Burials and fighting Hollows. Only the highest seated officers held a position in the Shadow Ops too. But because of the connection, The Second's preferred style of combat was the same as in the Executive Militia: relying mostly on Hakuda and Hohou. Hitsugaya had no problem with the Hohou; he trained shunpo regularly and his speed was good too. The Hakuda was more of a problem. In fights, he always relied on the long blade of Hyourinmaru to deliver damage to his enemies. He wasn't used to getting close enough to his opponents to strike them with his hands and feet. But if he wanted to make a career in the Second, that would have to change.

He realized it during the first division training he attended. Practicing the moves wasn't bad, but then came the time for sparring. He was paired with Ikeda Nagami, their Ninth Seat. She was a tall middle-aged woman. Very tall. Hitsugaya remembered the Fourth Division's Third Seat Kotetsu Isane and her issues about her height. Now her concerns seemed minuscule. Ikeda was a big woman. Not only she was taller than Isane, she was also very broad, but none of it was fat. It was all muscle. She resembled a female gorilla a bit, at least when her figure was concerned. She had steely grey eyes, short, reddish-brown hair streaked with grey on her temples and a sour expression on her square face. She felt obviously insulted that she had to fight a child.

"Don't think I'm going to be easy on you, boy," she informed him before charging in with a kick. Hitsugaya jumped back. He wanted to retaliate, but the lack of a blade in his hands made him uncomfortable. And Ikeda was attacking again. This time she tried with a drop-kick from above, using shunpo to make her movement faster. Hitsugaya had to use shunpo himself to avoid it and he barely made it. The woman pivoted on her feet and tried to punch his head. Toushirou ducked. She kicked at him, but he blocked it and jumped away.

The fight continued in the same vein for quite some time. Ikeda was attacking, Hitsugaya was dodging and neither could land a decisive hit on the other.

"What are you doing?" she shouted when her patience began waning. "Do you want to keep dodging for a whole day? Are you a shinigami or a chicken? You're supposed to be an officer, boy. So attack me finally."

Hitsugaya nodded. He wanted to attack her too, but he couldn't see any opening in her defense big enough for him to get through. There were plenty of openings he could stab Hyourinmaru through or shoot a Kidou through, but this was a Hakuda match.

He eyed his opponent carefully, thinking of a strategy. He had assessed enough of her fighting style and he couldn't find any significant weaknesses. She was right-handed, but could use her left arm well enough too. She liked jumping attacks. She was fast and strong and she could detect even attacks coming from behind and react in time. So what could he do?

Ikeda didn't give him the time to figure it out. She attacked again, once more with a kick. Hitsugaya dodged. Then he dodged a punch and an overhead chop. It looked like a familiar pattern. She had used it once before. Now she would kick with her left foot...

Yes. She did exactly that. Hitsugaya twisted to avoid her heel and grabbed her ankle. And pulled. He hoped to throw her off-balance, but she was too experienced for that. She jumped into his movement, executing a headstand, which threw him off-balance. He was forced to let go of her calf. And she managed to kick him with her other foot in the process. It knocked the air out of him in for a moment. He landed on his feet and immediately had to roll on the ground to avoid her next attack. She seemed to get faster suddenly. Or maybe she was done taking it easy on him. Suddenly he had a much harder time avoiding her kicks and punches.

He considered raising his reiatsu to keep up, but decided against it. She wasn't releasing her spiritual pressure either. And using more power was a cheap way to win a battle, especially when the objective was to gain more skill. He decided to try a trick. He waited until she kicked at his head and dropped down under her foot, going after her other leg. He grabbed her ankle, intending to pull he foot from under her. His plans were disrupted by her other foot landing on his back, pressing him face-first into the ground. He lost his grip on her leg in the process. The impact was so sudden that for a moment he thought she might have broken his spine, but he could still feel his legs.

"That was pathetic," Ikeda spoke. Hitsugaya didn't answer. Her foot applying pressure to his back was preventing him from drawing a breath. "Only a child would be fooled by such a simple trick. Resorting to it showed you were desperate. Get up, the lesson isn't over yet. You have a lot of work ahead if you want to survive in the Second." Hitsugaya didn't get up. He couldn't when she was still standing on him. "Are you deaf? I said get up!" Hitsugaya pointed to the foot on his back. "Is that a problem?" she scoffed. "You are such a baby. A shinigami should be able to get up on his own." She still didn't remove her foot from his back. Hitsugaya understood that he'd have to free himself, because the Ninth Seat looked content to stand there until the next day.

He quickly pushed himself up, releasing his reiatsu simultaneously. It gave him enough strength to push the woman off him. She lost her balance momentarily, but she quickly jumped back, landing on her feet. Hitsugaya quickly rolled to his feet.

"That was a bit better," she said. "Now, let's continue the training." She attacked him again so fast that he had barely the time to put up a block. This was going to be a long day.

.*****************************************************************************************.

When Hitsugaya dragged himself to his room that evening, his whole body aching form the training/torture session, he was certain about two things. One: he sucked at Hakuda big time and it was going to take a long time before it would change. Two: the Second was filled with even worse nutcases than the Eleventh. He wondered whether he could run back to the Third. Surely Matsumoto's parties weren't that bad? But he had chosen this on his own free will. He had decided that he needed to improve and so far, the Second looked like a good place for it. And nobody was trying to kill him here, merely beat him black and blue, whereas Matsumoto's boobs nearly caused his death once before. And he did suck at Hakuda and the Second was the best place to remedy it fast. So at least for the time, he was staying. But once his Hakuda improved, he was going to transfer again. And hope he wouldn't end up in a division even crazier than those he already had been a part of. There had to be a normal, sane division somewhere out there, sure? Hitsugaya was determined to keep searching until he found it. But for now he would focus on improving his skills.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Much like before the Seated Officers Exams in the Third, Hitsugaya felt quite anxious. As a new addition to the Second, he was obliged either to take it or join the unranked members. He knew that he had power and skills, but he wasn't sure whether they were what the Second required. He was sure that if there would be a Hakuda exam, he was going to completely mess it. The month spent within the Second wasn't enough to get his Hakuda on par with his other abilities. The rumors that there had been casualties during the exams before and that some participants had disappeared without a trace every year did nothing to calm him. Two of the senior officers were talking about it in the mess hall loudly yesterday, no doubt with the purpose of making the participants scared. Toushirou had to admit that it worked. These thoughts kept him awake long into the night and that nearly caused him to oversleep in the morning. He raced to the exam site in the last minute, breathless and tired and even more worried about what was going to take place.

After taking the officer's exams in the Third, Hitsugaya thought he knew what to expect, but the Second was much different. It wasn't just because the written portion concentrated on completely different topics. In fact, expect for the Kidou part, nothing was like the boy remembered.

For example, the zanjutsu exam was very short. It consisted basically of showing you knew which end of the sword to hold and which went into the enemy and whether you had shikai. To compensate for these easy points, the Hakuda exam followed. The participants had to fight against experienced fighters, who Hitsugaya suspected were some top members of the Punishment Corps. He had to fight against a man more than twice his size. He seemed like a bear in human form to Hitsugaya. Not only he was big and strong, but he was also fast. The boy had to strain his abilities to the max to avoid being pummeled to the ground. He still got hit often, but he could keep upright. He even tried to counterattack several times, but all his strikes were blocked. Still, he knew that he couldn't hold on like this much longer. And he was right. Less than ten seconds later the man feinted a punch at his head and when Hitsugaya dodged, he found himself in the path of a vicious kick. The man's foot impacted with his ribs painfully and threw him across the arena, his breath knocked out. The boy rolled on the ground for a moment. The Onmitsukidou man appeared next to him, ready to deliver the finishing blow. Hitsugaya reacted on instinct. As the man's right foot was nearing his head, intending to knock him out, he released all of his reiatsu. The icy blast knocked the man off balance, sending him tumbling to the ground. Hitsugaya capitalized on his moment of surprise. Even before his opponent hit the ground, he launched a kick at his unprotected midsection. The man tried to release his own reiatsu in defense, but was a split-second too late. Hitsugaya's foot struck a sensitive place. The man collapsed to the ground, fighting back tears. Hitsugaya jumped to him, kicking him to the head. Even in his state, the downed man tried to block, but he didn't make it. He slumped to the ground unconscious.

Hitsugaya exhaled deeply and looked towards the stands, where the exam committee stood, composed of the highest officers and headed by the stone-faced Captain Soifon. He knew that releasing his reiatsu was something he wasn't supposed to do. He worried that he might be disqualified from the exams for it, but Soifon just wrote something in her notepad and motioned for him to proceed to the next test.

The next exam was Hohou and Hitsugaya realized that there were much less people than in the previous ones. Did they all fail the Hakuda exam? Were they so beat up they couldn't continue? He didn't know. And he didn't have time to ponder about it. The committee arrived and Soifon explained the rules of the next exam. It was to be a race there and back and the contenders had to bring back a token to prove they had really reached the checkpoint. And without any preamble, the captain started the race. Everybody slipped into shunpo.

Hitsugaya thought he was pretty good at shunpo, but there were people in the Second who specialized in it. He ran the fastest he could, but he couldn't keep up with the top contenders. He arrived at the finish line breathless, in the middle of the field. To his surprise he realized that a few people didn't reach it at all. He didn't understand it. What was so difficult about a shunpo race? Did they lose their way or collapse with exhaustion?

Soon Soifon decided that they weren't waiting for any more stragglers and lead the twenty-five people still in the contest to a remote training ground.

"This is where the final part of the exam happens," she explained. "After you enter the arena, you have a minute to hide yourself. Once everybody is inside, I'll give a signal and the exam begins. Your objective is to knock out the other contenders without being detected. Your performance will be judged on how many opponents you have defeated and how well you stayed concealed from the examiners. Everything is allowed as long as you don't kill or permanently maim anybody. Now, let's begin."

The examiners divided the contenders into five groups and led each of them to a different entrance. Then they let them inside one by one. When Hitsugaya walked through the gate, he saw that there was a very diverse landscape inside. He saw meadows, forests, rocks, creeks, a small pond and even a deserted village there. But he couldn't dawdle. He had to find a place to hide quickly. He decided on a patch of bushes near the pond. If he had to fight, he wanted to have all the advantages he could get. He crawled into the bushes, suppressing his reiatsu the best he could. About twenty seconds later, the signal sounded. The exam began.

Hitsugaya knew that he couldn't stay at one place too long. Someone could have seen him going there. The fact that he couldn't detect anyone nearby didn't mean nobody was there. Some of the others were very adept at concealing themselves.

He crawled towards the lake, trying not to disturb the bushes and alert the others to his presence. He failed miserably. The branches were too close and even his small body couldn't weave between them without moving them. He winced. He was sure everybody in the training field had to hear the leaves rustling. He abandoned all subtlety and jumped into the water, swimming under the surface. Water was his element and swimming came naturally to him. Even his clothes couldn't slow him down significantly. He swam to where the creek entered the pond. Only there, hidden by the tall grass on both sides, he dared to come out for air. He gasped for breath desperately. Staying underwater for this long was hard even for him. He could just hope nobody would hear his panting. Once his breath calmed down, he started moving against the flow quietly.

The sound of dry grass breaking under someone's foot was all the warning he had. He whirled around, Hyourinmaru in his hand. He was just in time to block a chop at his neck. The attacker hissed in pain as she injured her hand on the blade. Hitsugaya didn't give her the time to recover. He swung his zanpakutou, hitting her on the head with its flat side. She slumped to the ground without a sound.

The boy struggled to calm his racing heart. That had been close. He could have been outed when the exam barely begun. He sheathed his sword. He had to get away from here before other competitors, lured in by the commotion, would appear. He realized that his reiatsu was raised, shining like a beacon to everybody in the arena. He suppressed it again and then shunpoed away. He didn't care where, as long as it was far enough.

After five steps he found himself at the edge of a forest. He decided that it was as good a place as any and climbed onto a nearby tree. He was concealed from being spotted from below by a thick branch and he could see what was going around well. He could only hope that he wouldn't be discovered thanks to the water still dripping from his clothes.

He felt a burst of reiatsu coming from the other end of the training grounds. Somebody was fighting. He debated going there and taking out the winner, but others would probably arrive there before him. He didn't want to end up in the middle of a melee. And besides, the fight ended soon.

He stayed in the tree for another hour. Everything around him was quiet, only the leaves were rustling in the wind. If it weren't for the occasional bursts of reiatsu, the place would be completely peaceful. But even with them, the serenity of the surroundings was enough to lull the boy into a false sense of security. Combined with the tiredness after the earlier exams, it was enough to make his eyes droop.

He was rudely awoken by a kick to his ribs. He fell from the tree, trying desperately to figure out what had happened. He didn't have to wonder for long, he could already see the figure of a man standing on his former resting place. It seemed that he had drifted off for a moment and somebody had found him. Only the branches around the hiding spot prevented the attacker from hitting his head and knocking him out. _Good thing he didn't use kidou, _Hitsugaya thought.

Then the man noticed that Toushirou wasn't knocked out and jumped down the tree, intent on finishing what he started. Hitsugaya barely rolled away in time. Still on the ground, he unsheathed Hyourinmaru and put it into the path of the man's vicious kick. He pushed the foot away, upsetting the man's balance. He then upset it further as he slammed the flat side of his sword into his knee. The man lost his footing and fell. Hitsugaya quickly sprung to his feet and kicked him to the head. The man slumped into unconsciousness.

Hitsugaya exhaled deeply. That had been too close for comfort. That man was a weakling compared to him and yet he nearly got him. How did it happen? And how did the other contestant find him? As soon as he worded the question, the answer became apparent: he had lost control of his reiatsu the moment he fell asleep. It hadn't happened to him since his Academy days, but it had to happen to him again today of all days. He didn't understand it. But he had no time to ponder over it. All the contestants still in the game must have felt it, so he had to suppress his reiatsu again and move.

Only he found he couldn't move. It was caused by the six pillars of light slamming into his body. _Bakudou 61: Rikujoukourou, _he recognized immediately. Where did it come from? Who had cast it? He hadn't detected anyone in the vicinity. And how was he going to get out? He released more of his reiatsu in an attempt to freeze it. Before he could complete the plan, he felt the energy of another kidou soaring towards him. Then his world went black.

.*****************************************************************************************.

When Toushirou woke up after the exam, he felt rather embarrassed. How could he have lost control of his reiatsu so badly? He had thought he was better than that. But apparently not. And why did it have to happen during the exam of all times? The last time it had happened had been... now that he thought about it, his reiatsu control had been slipping for some time. It was slow and gradual, so he had paid it no attention until the exam made him realize it forcibly. Thinking back of it, he probably didn't practice suppressing his reiatsu as much as he should and it now came back to bite him. There was only one thing he could do about it: practice more and he resolved to do just that.

When the letter with his exam results arrived the next day, Hitsugaya couldn't believe his eyes. Sixteenth Seat? That was a big loss. There must have been some mistake. He quickly opened the letter, scanning the detailed review of his performance. _Cannot control his reiatsu, actually fell asleep during the stealth test... _he skimmed to the end when Soifon-taichou personally wrote some words for her officers. It read: _Being unable to control yourself and your reiatsu is a sign of immaturity. Falling asleep on duty is something only children do. It doesn't matter whether you have a fancy shikai if you get eaten by a Hollow in your sleep. Be glad I didn't kick you out of my division altogether. _It was harsh and Hitsugaya felt bitterness while reading it, but he couldn't really argue with the logic. He did fall asleep during a mission simulation. He had been tired after the night without sleep and the earlier tests and his young body required more sleep than his older peers, but that was really no excuse. A Hollow wouldn't have cared.

He sighed. He probably got the rank he deserved. It hurt to admit it, but there was nothing he could do about it now. The only thing he could do was to train so he would do better the next time.

.*****************************************************************************************.

It was two days after the Officers' Tryouts. He had another sparring session with Ninth Seat Ikeda, which predictably ended with him being pounded into the ground. He knew he was improving, but the woman kept revealing more and more of what she could do and her Hohou and Hakuda skills were still above Hitsugaya's. So this training session was very much like the previous ones, but there was one difference: today Ikeda stopped him to talk.

"So I heard how you did in the exams," she said. Hitsugaya looked ashamed. Did she have to rub the debacle in? Wasn't enough that everybody was calling him 'sleepyhead' because of it? "There's one thing I don't get." _Oh no, _Toushirou thought. _Is she going to ask how could I have fallen asleep?_ That would make it about the hundredth time somebody asked that. "Why did you come to the Second?"

"What?" The question startled the boy. He truly hadn't expected it. He must have looked really stupid in the moment, because Nagami rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't that complicated question. Why did you join the Second when you had a good position in the Third? What were you? Twelfth Seat?"

"Eleventh," Hitsugaya corrected.

"And here you fell to the Sixteenth. And it's quite obvious that your Hakuda isn't worth crap and your Hohou can use a lot of improvement. So why did you come here?"

"That's why," he replied.

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't feel challenged enough," Hitsugaya elaborated. "First I had to keep up with the older students at the Academy and all that year-hopping. When I first joined the Gotei 13, I was assigned to the Fourth Division. I had to learn healing from scratch, so I had to work hard. But I'm not cut out to be a healer. Then, after an incident I don't want to describe, I transferred to the Eleventh. Back then, I was a beginner in zanjutsu, so I had to work very hard to get to their level. But I didn't share their philosophy, which caused problems. So I transferred into the Third, which I thought to be a quiet, normal division. I was mostly right, but it had an unexpected drawback: I didn't feel challenged there. The Third uses mostly zanjutsu and kidou and by that time, I was good at both. I learned new spells and how to better integrate them into my style, but I felt like it wasn't enough. Like my progress slowed considerably. And then I got almost killed on a mission. So I decided to transfer into a division that specialized in something I wasn't good at. That way I can get better at it the fastest and my overall combat prowess is improving fast again as well. Uh, did that make sense to you?"

"It made good sense," Ikeda nodded. There was a hint of approval in her voice. "Trying to improve yourself is always commendable. And trying to improve in areas you're bad at is even better. Most shinigami train in what they are good at, but specialization could be dangerous. Every weakness can be exploited. Trying to remove them is the best you can do. Very well, kid. If you want to become good at Hakuda so badly, I'm going to help you. From tomorrow on, I'm going to train you really seriously."

"Thank you," Hitsugaya said sincerely, though there was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. If Ikeda's routines up to today weren't serious training, what was? Well, he was going to find out tomorrow. Only later he realized that he hadn't even felt irritated at her calling him 'kiddo.'

.*****************************************************************************************.

Ikeda Nagami was a harsh taskmistress. Hitsugaya had thought he already knew it, but their training became even tougher after their conversation. Every evening he dragged himself to bed badly beaten and every morning he rose before dawn for another round of vicious beating. It felt like he was doing nothing else than training with Ikeda, though he managed to squeeze his squad duties into his schedule somehow. But at least he could feel the results already. Ikeda-sensei was showing him moves he had never thought possible. Hakuda was much more than just the art of kicking and punching the daylight out of somebody. It was the skill of turning your body into a weapon. A true Hakuda master could shatter any Hollow's mask with a punch, never needing to touch his or her zanpakutou even against the strongest opponents. But true Hakuda masters were very rare, even amongst the Second and the Onmitsukidou. Hitsugaya was very far from being a Hakuda master. But he was improving fast and that was the important thing.

His swordsmanship was improving too. Even if he didn't train it as much as Hakuda, all the lessons with Ikeda were helping his overall agility, speed and strength. And he realized that some of the moves he had learned from her could be incorporated into his kenjutsu if he tweaked them a bit. He came to the conclusion that joining the Second had been a lucky decision on his part. He had never had a personal tutor before, or even somebody he could consider so close. And Ikeda was a great mentor. Hitsugaya soon came to the conclusion that she was too strong to be a mere Ninth Seat. He once asked her why it was so, but she refused to answer. Later, he had heard through the grapewine that Ikeda Nagami used to be an elite assassin in the Punishment Corps before retiring from the unit, but she decided to stay a shinigami on the less stressful position in the Second Division. The woman herself categorically denied those rumors.

.*****************************************************************************************.

If Hitsugaya had to be sincere, he was a bit anxious about his new assignment in the Living World. He could still remember clearly how his first encounter with spiritually aware humans went. And now he was supposed to spend a whole month in the vicinity of not only one, but two such individuals, who not only could see him, but were also capable of causing damage to him if they wished so, much worse than just throwing stones, and the relationship between them and the shinigami were strained at best. Sure, his orders were to keep his distance, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to adhere to them all the time.

He stepped out of the Senkaimon in the middle of a city. He paused for a moment to take in the sight. It was the middle of the day and the streets below him were bustling with life, the people entering and exiting the tall buildings and cars carrying their passengers on their errands. Hitsugaya observed it for a while. He had never visited a big human city before, so he was curious. It looked so different from Seireitei. Then he moved again. He wasn't here for sightseeing. He had a job to do. He had to locate a man and his son and keep an eye on them.

.*****************************************************************************************.

It was early in the afternoon when he felt the Hollow appear. It wasn't a particularly powerful one, but it was close to one of his charges. Hitsugaya sprang to his feet and raced towards the Hollow. He reached it quickly. The creature, resembling a human in shape but with sharp claws in place of its hands, was prowling through the street, looking for a soul to eat. Hitsugaya quickly jumped behind it, Hyourinmaru poised to strike. Then his senses tingled with danger and he hastily shunpoed away. A glowing arrow flew through the space he had been occupying a moment before, striking the Hollow in its back and disintegrating it into spirit particles. It died with a soul-piercing shriek.

"What are you doing?" Hitsugaya shouted turning towards the archer. There stood a boy of perhaps twelve, with dark hair and glasses, dressed in a really weird white outfit, a spiritual bow held in his hand. Toushirou immediately recognized him as the younger of his charges, Ishida Ryuuken.

"I was taking care of the Hollow, because you shinigami obviously cannot be bothered to show up in time," the young Quincy replied.

"That's nonsense," Hitsugaya shot back. "I was taking care of it, in case you couldn't see. It looked more like you were trying to shoot me in the back!"

"Why would I ever want to shoot a shinigami in the back?" Ryuuken asked in a tone suggesting that he had a reason.

"I don't know, but in case you wanted to do it again, don't even try," Hitsugaya suggested. "And by the way, you aren't supposed to shoot any Hollows."

"So I am supposed to just stand there and let it eat whoever it pleases?" the older-looking boy asked sarcastically.

"No, but you aren't supposed to shoot when there already is a shinigami to take care of it. And especially you aren't supposed to aim at his back."

"My arm must have slipped," the young Quincy said cheekily. "And it won't be any loss if I really hit you. What is the Soul Society thinking, sending a child to our defense? They must want us to be all killed out."

"Now listen, you twerp," Hitsugaya said angrily. "I'll let you know I'm perfectly capable of purifying Hollows. If you call me a child once more..."

"Well," Ryuuken shrugged, "I guess you are more capable than the idiot who was guarding uncle Gouken. He didn't bother to show up at all. And uncle waited for him until the last moment. He was killed because of it." As he spoke, his tone became angrier and angrier.

"I am sorry for your loss," Toushirou replied.

"I don't want condolences from the shinigami," Ryuuken scoffed. "Uncle died only because of your stupid insistence that we mustn't kill the monsters."

"You are destroying souls forever," Hitsugaya pointed out. "Didn't you hear its despair?"

"It was a fallen soul," the Quincy shrugged. "It deserved it."

"How can you say something like that?" Now Hitsugaya was getting angry. "It used to be an ordinary human once!"

"It was a human weighted by sin. It stopped being human a long time ago. It deserved its fate." Hitsugaya really hated the Quincy's self-righteous tone.

"What if it was someone you knew?"

"Know a Hollow? Don't be ridiculous," Ryuuken scoffed. "But I guess as a shinigami you can't help it."

"This was a weak Hollow," Hitsugaya observed. "Probably a new one. And new Hollows go after their family and friends first, didn't you know? Did somebody you knew die recently?" A look of shock appeared at the young Ishida's face, letting Toushirou know that he had hit the mark. But the shock quickly disappeared, being replaced by anger.

"How dare you suggest such a thing?" Ryuuken shouted, a glowing arrow appearing in his hand. "I won't stand for a shinigami to insult me so!" Hitsugaya had no idea what the insult was, but it didn't matter. What mattered was the arrow pointing at his heart. He tightened his grip on Hyourinmaru, preparing to fight.

"Children, children," a voice interrupted them. Both youngsters turner to its source, Hitsugaya in confusion, Ryuuken in anger. Neither of them forgot to keep one eye at the other. "What are you doing, fighting each other?" the speaker chastised them. He was a middle aged man, with dark graying hair and moustache and kind brown eyes behind glasses similar to Ryuuken's.

"Father," Ryuuken spoke. "You need not concern yourself. I have the situation firmly in hand."

"Do you now?" Souken questioned. "It looks more like you are about to start a fight with a shinigami. Don't you realize the possible repercussions?" His son stared back at him completely unrepentant.

"He was picking a fight," he pointed at Hitsugaya.

"You tried to shoot me in the back," the white-haired boy retorted.

"I was shooting the Hollow," Ryuuken replied, "because somebody couldn't be bothered to take care of it in time."

"Excuses. You were trying to shoot me."

"Enough," Souken spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried unmistakable authority. Ryuuken immediately straightened up and let his bow dissipate. Even Hitsugaya lowered his blade. Though the man still looked kind and friendly, there was something about him that suggested that they shouldn't disobey if they knew what was good for them. It reminded the young shinigami of Unohana. "There's no need to point your weapons on one another. Isn't our ultimate goal the same, the protection of living beings?"

"If they," Ryuuken pointed angrily at Hitsugaya, "did their job..."

"I would do my job if a certain somebody didn't try to shoot me in the back," Toushirou snapped back.

"Quiet, children," Souken ordered. "You are behaving like a bunch of unruly toddlers." Hitsugaya flushed deeply, partially with anger and partially with shame. He was always trying to act mature, but there was something about this Quincy that completely destroyed his composure. Even Ryuuken looked chastised.

"There is really no need to be enemies," the older Quincy continued. "The shinigami and the Quincy could accomplish much more if they worked together. Ryuuken made a derisive face Souken couldn't see. "Why couldn't you cooperate for a change, boys?" Ryuuken's face said it all.

"That would be against my orders, sir," Hitsugaya answered. He wasn't sure why he was addressing the man so respectfully, but the elder Quincy seemed easy to respect.

"And you always have to follow your orders to the letter?" Souken questioned.

"Yes. If you knew my superiors, you'd understand why."

"Excuses," Ryuuken snorted. "He's a shinigami. They hate us. They want to destroy us all, just not so openly like they did before."

"That's not true!" Hitsugaya defended. He didn't hate the Quincy. Well, to be honest, he got to dislike Ryuuken, but that had nothing to do with the fact that the boy was Quincy.

"Hmph," Ryuuken expressed his opinion.

"Are you trying to provoke him?" Souken turned to his son.

"It's not like _they _need any provocation," the dark-haired boy snapped.

"Really?" Souken raised an eyebrow. "You're the one who's snapping here."

"I can't see why you aren't. He's a shinigami!" Ryuuken yelled.

"So?" his father asked calmly.

"You and your ideals," the younger Quincy rolled his eyes.

"You and your stubbornness," Souken sighed. Hitsugaya decided that he'd heard enough. It seemed to be an argument the two of them had often. He took is as his cue to leave before they could drag him into it again. And he used his fastest shunpo just to be sure. In his opinion, the more distance he could put between himself and Ishida Ryuuken the better. He hoped he wouldn't have to come into contact with him again, but he wouldn't bet much on it. There were still over three weeks left of his assignment. They were going to be long.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Over two weeks passed in relative calm. Hitsugaya did his best to keep away from the two Quincies and to purify any Hollow that appeared in the town. So far, he had been lucky, though there had been several close calls when he felt Ryuuken coming near. But every time he managed to get away before the younger Quincy could try to shoot him again. It was only when merely four days remained of his assignment that trouble struck.

Two days before, Souken had been struck with a nasty case of influenza that had confined him to the bed for a whole week. That left his no-good son free to roam the town as he pleased. He used the opportunity fully to visit all the places his father would never let him close to.

Faced with the fact that both his charges were at distant location, Hitsugaya decided to keep closer watch on Souken. Ryuuken had shown the ability to take care of himself in case of a Hollow attack, while the older Quincy currently didn't look strong enough to get to the bathroom on his own power.

It was during one such time, when Ryuuken had been out of the house for hours, when the Hollow appeared. Its reiatsu was weak, but Hitsugaya could tell that it wasn't because it was weak itself. No, this one was quite powerful. It was just far away. And the direction it was... wasn't it where Ryuuken had gone? Yes, the question was answered with a sensation of a Quincy's reiatsu. A powerful Hollow was just attacking Ryuuken. Hitsugaya prayed that no other Hollow would appear to attack the defenseless Souken and rushed to the site of the battle.

Even with all his prowess in shunpo, he felt slow. As he neared the Hollow, he could feel more clearly how powerful it was. He was going to have trouble purifying it. How long could Ryuuken last against it?

It turned that long enough. Though the young Quincy had been scared when the giant Hollow suddenly appeared in front of him, he retained enough presence of mind to summon his bow and shoot at it. Unfortunately for him, his fear was affecting his aim and the power behind his arrows. He managed to disable one of its six arms with one lucky shot, but the other hits were mere annoyances for the monster. It attacked him with ferocity and he failed to keep track of all its arms. The lower left palm slammed into him, sending him crashing into a nearby wall painfully. As he pushed himself up, he could only thank whatever gods there might be that he hadn't been hit by its claws. He wouldn't be getting up again in that case.

It was this situation when Hitsugaya finally arrived. He shunpoed next to Ryuuken and blocked one of the Hollow's hands aiming at him.

The Quincy got to his feet. "I can deal with this myself," he declared, but he didn't sound convincing.

"Sure," Hitsugaya deadpanned slashing at another of the Hollow's arms that came too close. Seeing that no other appendage was threatening his charge currently, he leapt to the Hollow's shoulder.

Ryuuken's Quincy pride surged high. He was getting saved by a shinigami and that was something he just couldn't take. Somehow the insult in the situation and the fact that the Hollow wasn't concentrating on him anymore restored his confidence. His bow glowed brightly, just as it was supposed to. When he pulled back the string, the arrow he created was one of the most powerful he had ever managed. He aimed at the Hollow's head.

Hitsugaya, now standing on the Hollow's shoulder, held his zanpakutou high, prepared to cleave the Hollow's head in half. But as the Hollow noticed the Quincy bow, it jerked slightly just as Hitsugaya swung his sword down. Thanks to his being suddenly off-balance, the blade missed its intended target and instead only chipped half the mask off just as Ryuuken released his arrow. The Hollow roared in pain and its now visible face scrunched in a tortured grimace before Ryuuken's arrow pierced it through, disintegrating the fallen soul.

"Why did you have to shoot it?" Hitsugaya shouted at the Quincy boy angrily. "I had it under control!"

Ryuuken didn't answer. He collapsed into fetal position, trembling violently.

"What's wrong with you?" the shinigami inquired. "Are you wounded?" At first, it looked like Ryuuken didn't even hear him. Then the dark-haired boy began muttering something. When Hitsugaya leant closer, he could recognize the words:

"It was a child."

"What?" Hitsugaya at first didn't understand.

"It was a child," the shell-shocked youth repeated. At this moment, realization dawned on Hitsugaya. He hadn't gotten a good look at the Hollow's unmasked face, but it had looked young.

"Any soul can fall," he said, "given enough time."

"If the shinigami don't do their jobs," Ryuuken muttered darkly. Hitsugaya said nothing. He couldn't really deny the accusation. It was the shinigami's duty to help the lingering souls to cross into the Soul Society. But even the most diligent of shinigami sometimes missed one. And there were some who didn't take their jobs seriously enough.

"It's your fault!" Ryuuken roared, snapping Hitsugaya from his musings.

"What?" the boy was taken aback by the rage in the Quincy's eyes.

"It's your fault I had to kill a child!" Ryuuken repeated, the bow appearing in his hand. It happened so fast that the startled shinigami didn't react in time. The arrow scratched his side just as he was slipping into shunpo.

Hitsugaya landed on a nearby rooftop, checking his wound. It was shallow, but it stung badly. Much more than such a minuscule wound had a right to hurt. It must be something in the Quincy reiatsu that was reacting badly with his own.

He had no time to ponder over it. Ryuuken appeared next to him, bow pulled back for another shot. Hitsugaya shunpoed away in the nick of time. The roof he used to stand on exploded. And Ryuuken was already shooting again, this time at Toushirou's new location.

The prodigy had to dodge a multitude of arrows, all of them powerful. Rage was giving the young Quincy great strength. If he had fought like this against the Hollow, he would have destroyed it easily. But that was neither here nor there. Hitsugaya had to figure out how to stop the raging youth before he destroyed the whole neighborhood. Toushirou estimated that he would be able to defeat him, but would probably wound him in the process, something he was forbidden to do. He had to find a way to subdue him without hurting him. Catching him in a Bakudou would be good, but Hitsugaya wasn't sure whether it would work. Quincy could absorb reishi from their surroundings. Would Ryuuken be able to drain a kidou spell? Hitsugaya tried to remember what he had read in the materials before his mission. But the constant rain of deadly arrows made it difficult to concentrate. And Ryuuken's skill with Hirenkyaku prevented him from running away too.

In the end he decided he'd try it and see how did it work. But hitting Ryuuken with anything wouldn't be easy, that boy did move fast and had good reflexes.

"Sai," Hitsugaya started with the basics. He missed. Well, he hadn't expected much from this spell anyway. He tried something stronger.

"Bakudou #4: Hainawa!" The rope of crackling yellow energy formed in his hands and flew towards the Quincy. Ryuuken just scoffed and sent three arrows at it. They pierced the spell and disintegrated it into nothingness. Hitsugaya frowned. This was going to be tough. He needed a plan if he wanted to succeed.

He sent several more low-level Bakudou just to see how Ryuuken reacted. Several minutes later, he had a rough idea of when the young Quincy dodged and where and how did he counterattack. He now knew enough to act. And he should act before even more damage would be done to their surroundings.

"Hainawa!" he fired another yellow rope, but this time purposefully off-target. Ryuuken scoffed, not bothering to shoot at the spell, and vanished with Hirenkyaku. Hitsugaya's spiritual senses told him that the Quincy was now directly behind him.

"Sekienton!" Bakudou #21 created a cloud of red smoke, momentarily blinding the archer. He fired his arrow anyway, but by this time his target disappeared in shunpo. _If he thinks he can run, he's wrong, _Ryuuken thought. He could feel perfectly well where the shinigami was. A boost of Hirenkyaku carried him close to the little brat. He pulled back his bow. And at that moment he realized he couldn't move. That little squirt had hit him with a spell! He hadn't seen it coming because his eyes stung from the red smoke and the shinigami didn't call the name of the spell. But if that little whelp thought a spell of this level was going to stop him, he'd have another thought coming. He increased his absorption of spiritual particles from his surroundings, quickly dissolving the Bakudou into nothing. And then his world went black as the hilt of Hyourinmaru slammed into the back of his head.

Hitsugaya caught the prone youth before he could fall off the roof and laid him gently down. He hoped he hadn't hit him too hard, that would have landed him in trouble. He also hoped he hadn't hit him too little and the Quincy wouldn't wake up and renew his attack. Well, there was no need to take chances.

"Bakudou #63: Sajo Sabaku." Golden chains bound the unconscious boy. Hitsugaya smirked. He'd like to see the Quincy try to get out of this. But now he was faced with the problem of what to do with the youth. He couldn't just leave him here, this was one of the seedier parts of the town. Maybe he should carry him home? But what if the people here saw a prone boy floating through the air? If he used shunpo, they wouldn't be able to see a thing. Once decided, Hitsugaya picked up Ryuuken and rushed him towards the Ishida residence.

He arrived there shortly. He had intended to just drop off Ryuuken in his room and get lost again, but this was one of the times Souken was awake. He noticed the two boys coming close and was both curious and worried what was going on, so despite his illness he dragged himself off the bed and came to look what was it about. Naturally when he saw his only son wrapped in the chains of a Bakudou, he wasn't pleased.

"What's the meaning of this?" he asked, trying to sound stern. Bow appeared in his left hand, at odds with his philosophy of peace.

"Uh," Hitsugaya searched for an answer that wouldn't get him shot. "I can explain..."

"Then do so," Souken prompted.

Hitsugaya quickly retold what had happened. Souken looked like he believed him. Probably. At least he didn't start shooting, which Hitsugaya was grateful for. Or maybe he didn't shoot just because he felt too sick to form an arrow. He certainly looked ready to keel over any moment. Toushirou didn't question his luck, released the Bakudou on Ryuuken and shunpoed away. He hoped he wouldn't have to come near either Ishida again.

.*****************************************************************************************.

For the rest of his mission, Hitsugaya did his best to stay as far away from the pair of Quincies as possible. Another encounter like this was the last thing he wanted. He was sure that the mess that had already happened was enough to land him in trouble and he certainly didn't need to sink even deeper. Fortunately Ryuuken didn't stray from his house or school again. Either he had learnt his lesson or Souken had grounded him. Hitsugaya didn't know and didn't care. His charges weren't getting into any trouble and that was all that mattered. Still, he was immensely glad when he could finally return to Soul Society.

Thankfully, his actions during the mission weren't judged as too stupid, so he got off only with a reprimand. Life soon returned to its usual state.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_The wind was blowing in his face, herding the snowflakes into his eyes. It was cold, colder than the deepest winter, but it didn't bother him a bit. Even the snow pelting his face didn't annoy him. The heavy, grey clouds were surging past him. No, he was surging past them. He was flying, soaring through the air at speeds close to his fastest shunpo, yet he didn't feel any strain. He turned his head a bit, surveying his surroundings. He saw a wing. A giant wing shining with crystalline scales. A dragon's wing. Was he riding a dragon? No, he realized, as he straightened his wings, he was the dragon. He was flying through the winter's skies, racing with the winds. It was an exhilarating feeling. He flapped his wings harder, flying higher and faster. And higher and higher until he climbed above the clouds. Blue sky greeted him and the sun shone on his scales brightly, making him shine like a well-polished diamond. The clouds floated below him, looking completely fluffy and harmless, nothing indicating that there was a blizzard raging below them._

_He let out a roar of pure joy. It seemed to echo across the freezing skies, despite there being nothing that could reflect the sound. He soared through the air until he grew bored. Then he dove down into the clouds. The white mist enveloped him once again and the snowflakes danced their dance before his eyes. He paid them little attention. He was falling through them, going faster and faster. Then he broke through the clouds and could see again. The snow obscured his vision, but he could still see the land below him, the plains and mountains clad in purest white. It looked familiar to him, but he couldn't remember seeing it before._

_He surged through the air for a while longer while the ground grew closer. Finally, when it seemed he was going to crash any moment, he spread his wings, breaking his fall. He turned so close to the ground that his tail left a trail in the snow. He didn't have to think about the correct moment to break his fall, he just knew when to do it. Flying came instinctively to him. Then he climbed up again, ready to repeat his mad flight._

.*****************************************************************************************.

He woke up. The sky was just lightening with approaching dawn and the light shining through his open window illuminated the tiny ice crystals covering every surface in his room, giving it an otherworldly look. That gave him pause. Why was there ice in his room? It was the middle of summer. Could it be... but it didn't happen to him since the Academy. There was no reason for it to happen again. But what other explanation was there?

"_Hyourinmaru?"_ he called his zanpakutou spirit.

"_**Yes, child?"**_ the dragon responded immediately.

"_Why is it happening again?"_ He couldn't keep the dismay from his voice. He really didn't understand it. He kept training control of his spiritual pressure, yet it was steadily becoming worse. It was the sole reason he did so bad in the last officers' evaluation trials. Well, that and the fact that he couldn't sleep the night before. At that time, he had considered it a fluke, but now it became apparent that it wasn't so. His control was really going to hell. And he couldn't find the reason for it.

"_**Isn't it obvious?"**_the ice dragon replied with a question.

"_No." _Maybe it was obvious to Hyourinmaru, but Toushirou was lost.

"_**Your power grew," **_the spirit explained. _**"It became too strong to be contained."**_

"_That doesn't make sense," _Hitsugaya frowned. _"There are many more powerful shinigami who can control their power perfectly. Take Captain Soifon. She's so powerful and yet she can sneak up on anyone, never letting out a shred of reiatsu."_

"_**That's true,"**_ Hyourinmaru nodded.

"_So why can't I do it?"_Hitsugaya didn't care that he sounded desperate.

"_**You need more control."**_

"_I train control and it isn't helping," _the boy replied, his voice full of frustration.

"_**I said you need more control,"**_ the ice dragon repeated with a hint of impatience.

"_But no matter what I do, it isn't improving,"_Hitsugaya sighed.

"_**Really?" **_Hyourinmaru raised an eyebrow. _**"Child, I thought you would be able to figure it on your own. Or do I have to spell everything for you?"**_

"_I still don't get it," _Toushirou sighed.

"_**Then think," **_the zanpakutou spirit prompted. _**"Why did it happen the last time?"**_

"_Before I released your shikai,"_ Toushirou answered wondering what was Hyourinmaru getting to. _"And before that it was before I learned your name."_

"_**So you do remember it," **_the ice dragon nodded contentedly._**"What does it mean to you?"**_

"_It happened when I was almost ready to unlock a new level of power," _Hitsugaya observed.

"_**So you understand."**_

"_I'm not sure I do," _Toushirou shook his head in confusion. _"I already have shikai."_

"_**That you do," **_Hyourinmaru agreed.

"_So what else is there?"_ Hitsugaya threw his arms wide in frustration.

"_**And they say you're smart," **_the dragon shook his head in exasperation. _**"What else, indeed?" **_Hyourinmaru asked in a tone that suggested that the answer should be obvious even to a simpleton.

"_You can't mean..." _Toushirou began but trailed off.

"_**What?" **_ the zanpakutou spirit prompted.

"_There's Bankai but that's..." _Hitsugaya once again didn't finish his sentence.

"_**That's what?"**_ Hyourinmaru prodded when the boy had been silent for too long.

"_That's for the captains to have and for the lieutenants to strive for. I'm just..."_ he shook his head to indicate how ridiculous he considered the suggestion.

"_**You know you are more powerful than your rank suggests," **_the zanpakutou spirit interrupted.

"_I know," _Hitsugaya admitted, _"but who ever heard about a child with Bankai?"_

"_**When did that ever stop you?"**_ Hyourinmaru retorted.

"_You have a point," _the boy agreed. _"But still..."_

"_**It sounds like too much?"**_ the dragon asked.

"_Too much and too soon,"_Hitsugaya elaborated.

"_**You should be used to such things by now," **_the zanpakutou spirit pointed out.

"_That's true," _Toushirou sighed. _"But still..."_

"_**You don't have to do anything **__**right now. But eventually, you'll have to make your decision."**_

"_I know," _Hitsugaya sighed again. _"And when the time comes, there would be only one choice, wouldn't it?"_ Hyourinmaru didn't answer.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya sighed as he removed the ice from the floor. It had become a regular morning ritual for him. For over a week now, every night he had dreamt about flying and every morning his room was frosted over. Though it looked like something from a fairy-tale, it made living in difficult. He realized that he couldn't postpone his decision anymore. But that didn't make it any less intimidating. The moment the last of the ice was thrown in the sink, he grabbed his zanpakutou and headed for a secluded spot in the training grounds. He sat down on the grass between two trees and contacted the spirit.

"_Hyourinmaru?"_

"_**Took you long enough, child."**_ There was a slight chuckle in the dragon's voice. Hitsugaya felt a bit ashamed. He had been procrastinating, he knew it, but every thought about Bankai left him cowed. It was a legend for him. Something only the strongest of the strong could use and almost never had to. Something he had only heard about before spoken in awed tones.

"_I know," _Toushirou admitted._ "It's just that..."_

"_**You're scared, aren't you?" **_As usual, the dragon could see right through him.

"_Yes," _the boy admitted.

"_**There's no need to be ashamed," **_Hyourinmaru reassured him. _**"It is a big decision."**_

"_I still have trouble believing it's real. I mean, me and Bankai?"_

"_**What is so unbelievable about it?" **_Hyourinmaru raised an eyebrow. _**"You defeated Ikeda a month ago. Only her greater experience made the fight last so long. And you know she's better than her rank suggests too. You're already at the level of lieutenants and progressing beyond it. You just don't see it because you haven't fought any lieutenant lately."**_

"_That's true," _Hitsugaya nodded. _"Should I go and challenge some?"_

"_**If it helps you..." **_the dragon shrugged.

"_I think I'll try it," _the boy decided. _"But that is postponing the decision further, isn't it?"_

"_**Yes," **_the zanpakutou spirit agreed, _**"but it isn't a bad thing."**_

"_What do you mean?" _Hitsugaya asked in surprise.

"_**It will assure you what is the correct decision," **_Hyourinmaru explained._**"And you need to be confident you made the right choice. On the path to Bankai, you mustn't hesitate. You must know all your strengths and weaknesses. You must know your heart and mind. Otherwise you will fail."**_

"_Thanks for the reassurance," _Toushirou muttered sarcastically.

"_**You're welcome," **_Hyourinmaru replied.

"_I think I should get to know my strengths and weaknesses better soon, shouldn't I?"_

.*****************************************************************************************.

As luck would have it, on the very same day Soifon-taichou forced Oomaeda-fukutaichou to participate in the division's training. She said that he needed to work out some of the fat in front of the whole division, which mortified the conceited noble. He started to protest that he was merely pleasantly plump and his stature was a sign of his wealth and well-being, but the captain kicked him onto the training field and told him to start moving. Hitsugaya took the opportunity. The moment the spars were about to begin, he picked the lieutenant as his partner. It was easy, because nobody else wanted to fight with the fat man. They were probably worried that they would have rice crackers crumbs everywhere. Toushirou was worried too, but he was determined to endure.

Then the fight began and Hitsugaya wasted no time in attacking. His kick connected with the man's stomach before Oomaeda could blink. But thanks to the protective layers of fat the attack had almost no effect. He managed to kick him once more before Oomaeda retaliated. Hitsugaya easily ducked under his punch and kicked his knee. That finally had some effect because the man stumbled. It also angered him, because his next attack was more vicious. But it wasn't fast enough to catch Hitsugaya. The boy sidestepped the fist and punched at Oomaeda's stomach. And nearly walked straight into his kick. Hitsugaya jumped back swiftly. That had been close. He had been so misled by the fat man's initial bad performance that he completely forgot that he was a lieutenant for a reason other than his family connections. In the next moment he was forced to dodge a jumping kick. He twisted his body away. Oomaeda tried to punch him, but this time Toushirou was prepared. He grabbed Oomaeda's wrist and used it to propel himself upwards and deliver a kick to his face. The fukutaichou stumbled as his nose began bleeding. He tried to back away, but Soifon didn't allow him.

"No running!" she shouted. "You will fight until I say you can stop!" Oomaeda looked hurt, but then he returned to the fight. His captain was scarier than any enemy. She terrified him so much that he started fighting for real.

Hitsugaya suddenly found himself pressed. He found out the hard way how strong a punch Oomaeda packed when he tried blocking instead of dodging one and was thrown across the arena, his forearm reeling in pain. But it wasn't as bad as some of his lessons with Ikeda. And he still hadn't used all of his bag of tricks. Most of them were out because Oomaeda's fat cushioned many of his sensitive areas, so it was almost impossible to knock out his breath or hit his solar plexus, but there were still some soft spots. Hitsugaya quickly worked out possible strategies for hitting them. Which one he would use depended on Oomaeda's moves.

The fat lieutenant attacked head-on, trying to smash Hitsugaya's head with a strike from above. That meant the lower part of his body was unprotected. Hitsugaya dropped to the ground and dashed between Oomaeda's legs. Considering the difference in their sizes, the maneuver wasn't hard to perform. There was just enough space between Oomaeda's knees for Hitsugaya to sneak through. The fukutaichou only blinked in surprise. Nobody ever did that to him. In the next moment his face contorted in pain. As Hitsugaya was moving under him, he had kicked upwards. Hard. Oomaeda, unable to stand the pain, curled on himself and collapsed down. He fell right on top of Hitsugaya. His weight was enough to knock Hitsugaya's breath out of him. Hitsugaya pushed Oomaeda's body off him. It was a bit of a struggle, because he could hardly move under his bulk, but he managed. He climbed to his feet. Oomaeda, though on the verge of crying, was slowly picking himself from the ground too. He wanted to get away, but was met with the stern glare of Captain Soifon.

"Giving up already?" she sneered. "And you call yourself a lieutenant. What are you good for if you lose to a Sixteenth Seat? Go back and beat him."

"But..." Whatever the fat man wanted to say, Soifon didn't let him.

"Fight, you coward."

Seeing that he lost, Oomaeda nodded. "Yes. But I want to fight him all out. I'm going to crush him with my zanpakutou."

"No," Soifon denied his request. "No zanpakutou in training. You should be able to beat him with Hakuda alone. But if you insist, you might use bokken." She said in such a tone that made it sound like only the worst wusses used bokken. Oomaeda nodded. Then he turned to Hitsugaya, somehow managing a smirk despite his pain.

"You can't match my superior swordsmanship," he boasted. "You're going down." Hitsugaya snorted, letting him know what he thought about his claim. Oomaeda ignored him and walked to the racks to pick the best wooden katana. Hitsugaya followed him. He picked a wooden noudachi. It was the closest thing in length to Hyourinmaru. He waved the bokken experimentally, testing its balance. He frowned. It wasn't a good bokken, but he couldn't find any better. Shinigami of the Second Division rarely possessed long blades, so there were few bokken representing them. Hitsugaya pondered picking a better, but shorter sword, despite not being used to fighting with it, but then Oomaeda loudly announced that he was ready to wipe the floor with him. Not wanting to delay the second round of their match, Hitsugaya turned to him and nodded, acknowledging that they could begin.

With a sword in his hands, Oomaeda attacked with more confidence. Hitsugaya had to use both hands to stop his first strike. Seeing that, Oomaeda grinned.

"You're already barely holding your own. My next attack is going to smash you."

Hitsugaya didn't wait for his attack and attacked first. The wooden noudachi hit the lieutenant's stomach, but just like during the Hakuda match, the layers of fat prevented it from causing any damage. Oomaeda just grunted and swung his bokken at Hitsugaya's neck. The boy jumped away. He attacked again, but the lieutenant blocked. Then Oomaeda counterattacked. It was so fast that Hitsugaya had no time to move away, he could only block. His bokken broke in half. Before he could curse his luck, Oomaeda's practice katana slammed into his cheek, knocking him to the ground.

"I win," the fat lieutenant boasted. Hitsugaya disagreed. He sprung to his feet and charged. He jumped high, swinging the remnants of his blade down. Oomaeda wasn't paying attention and noticed it too late. He could only blink in surprise as Hitsugaya's broken blade, now about as long as a wakizashi, struck his shoulder. The sharp splinters at its end cut through his shihakushou. This snapped Oomaeda from his stupor. He raised his arm to attack the boy, but Hitsugaya, still midair, stepped on his forearm. Then he kicked the man in the face. That caused the lieutenant to stumble. Hitsugaya jumped down from his perch. On the way down, he slammed his bokken into Oomaeda's wrist. The hit made the man drop his weapon. Hitsugaya quickly snatched it, throwing away his broken one. Then he attacked again. He put all his strength into it. Oomaeda, still distracted by the pain, reacted slowly. He raised his arms to defend, but Hitsugaya swatted them away with his bokken. Then he kicked Oomaeda's stomach with such force that it knocked him down. Hitsugaya landed on his chest and put his sword to the lieutenant's throat.

"Do you yield or do you want me to kick you around some more?" Oomaeda scowled. He didn't like losing, especially not in front of so many spectators.

"It's over," Soifon's voice cut in. "Hitsugaya won." The boy jumped down from Oomaeda's body and bowed to the captain.

"But..." Oomaeda tried to speak, but Soifon silenced him with a glare.

"Don't speak, you disgrace to the rank of lieutenant. And get back to your training. You sorely need it." Then she turned and left. Oomaeda picked up the shards of his shattered pride and looked for someone he could beat to make himself feel better.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Ikeda's voice cut into Hitsugaya's thoughts. The boy turned to face her.

"I wanted to know how I compare to a lieutenant," the white-haired boy answered. "Even if it's just Oomaeda."

"Don't talk like that," the woman scolded him. "He is the lieutenant for a reason other than his family's connections. Underestimating him could prove fatal."

"I know," Hitsugaya replied, "I don't think he's bad, just that he's not the strongest of the lieutenants."

"So you would like to fight the strongest of the lieutenants?" Ikeda raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"I need to know how my strength compares to theirs."

"Need to know?" she repeated suspiciously. "What for?" Hitsugaya hesitated. Should he tell her the reason? What would she think if he told her that he was considering training for Bankai? She'd laugh, probably. And besides, he didn't want to talk about it where other people could hear.

"I wanted to know how much our training is paying off."

"Hmph." It didn't sound like she believed him. "Just don't get too cocky, kid. There is still much you have to learn."

"I know," Hitsugaya answered seriously.

"I hope you had a good reason for this," Nagami said seriously. "If you don't want to tell me what is it, fine. But it better be worth making an enemy of Oomaeda-fukutaichou and catching the attention of Soifon-taichou." That was something Hitsugaya hadn't considered before.

"I hope it's worth it too."

"_**So what did you decide?" **_Hyourinmaru asked in his mind. _**"You just beat a fukutaichou."**_

"_It's not like defeating Oomaeda is a big achievement," _Hitsugaya replied.

"_**Don't sell it short,"**_ Hyourinmaru chided. _**"You heard Ikeda: he's a Second Seat for a reason. There might be stronger lieutenants, but this should be enough to prove that you are at least at their level."**_

"_If you think so,"_ Toushirou shrugged.

"_**I know so," **_the ice dragon corrected. _**"So what do you think? Are you good enough to try?"**_

"_Yes," _Hitsugaya sighed. _"There's no use in postponing it. I'm starting today." _Hyourinmaru smiled.

"_**That's what I wanted to hear."**_


	10. First steps

**Author's note:** So just as I promised, the next chapter is here. Unfortunately I haven't made an illustration for this. I might post something later. Fortunately I made a breakthrough with chapter 11, so it shouldn't take too long before I can post it. Unfortunately that only means that the troublesome place has bee moved to chapter 12, so no promisses on that. That was enough ranting, now enjoy the story.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**On the Frozen Plain - First steps**

Bankai was something few shinigami ever attempted and even fewer gained. There wasn't much generally known about it and few books were written describing the Final Release, much less textbooks instructing how to obtain it. Hitsugaya had to visit the Great Library several times before he located one that seemed actually useful. Equipped with the knowledge he found there, he found a secluded spot in Rukongai to begin his materialization training. He didn't want to do it on the Second Division's training grounds; they were usually observed by Onmitsukidou members practicing stealthy surveillance. Hitsugaya didn't want anyone to know what he was up to. Materialization was something only the more powerful of lieutenants attempted. A child and a mere Sixteenth Seat trying the same would be considered hopeless and childish, if not outright deluded. Even the librarian looked at him oddly when he wanted books about Bankai. He played it down as mere academic curiosity.

He looked over the fields surrounding him. There wasn't a single person around. Good. He could begin. He started with contacting his zanpakutou.

"_Hyourinmaru?"_

"_**Little one?"**_ the dragon replied readily. Contacting him was now much easier than it used to be once, but still not at the level he would need to achieve Bankai.

"_Are you ready?"_

"_**Always. You can stop stalling now." **_Toushirou had to chuckle.

"_Then let's begin."_ He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He concentrated on his link with Hyourinmaru, mentally grabbing the dragon. Then he tried to pull him out. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He pulled harder. He imagined the spirit appearing next to him in the real world. He visualized him standing on the grass next to him. Then he opened his eyes. There was ice in abundance around, but no sign of a dragon. Well, it was as he expected on his first try. He took a little breather and tried again.

By the end of the day, he was completely exhausted, his surroundings completely frozen and he didn't get even a shimmering outline of Hyourinmaru's form. He tried not to feel down about it, this was supposed to take ten years, but he still couldn't help but feel a little bit down. Maybe it was because he was used to learning everything so much faster than anyone else. It looked like he should learn more patience first.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Shortly after the fight with Oomaeda, it was time for another officer's tryouts. Hitsugaya joined them again. This time he did much better. He won the Hakuda match without releasing his reiatsu, finished fifth in the shunpo race and he managed to stay awake during the stealth portion. Though he was still taken out from the behind because he failed to notice another competitor sneaking up on him, while the other shinigami could find him easily thanks to his trouble with concealing his reiatsu. But overall it was a success. Instead of the Sixteenth Seat, he was now awarded the Tenth. And no derogatory comments were added to the letter informing him of his promotion besides 'work on your reiatsu control. It's atrocious.' That was probably the best part.

But with higher rank also came new responsibilities, as he soon learned.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya was walking towards where he was supposed to meet his new unit. Being once again a commander of something was supposed to be an honor and promotion, but Hitsugaya was given a task no seated officer liked: being put in charge of a squad composed entirely of new recruits. Hitsugaya was convinced that this assignment was Oomaeda's revenge for making him look weak in front of Soifon-taichou. The fat lieutenant was still smarting from his public humiliation, but he didn't dare to challenge Hitsugaya to a rematch.

Hitsugaya tried not to think about any of the horror stories he had heard from his peers. According to them, new recruits liked nothing better than getting themselves in danger needlessly and then making you look like an incompetent commander when you lost half of your unit on the first mission. He sighed. He could already imagine how it was going to be: the new recruits would absolutely refuse to obey a child, rush headfirst into danger on their very first mission, get massacred and make him look like an especially inept excuse of an officer when he'd lose his whole unit. He could only hope that he'd manage to convince them that he was a competent leader and a strong and skilled shinigami and they'd better learn to obey his orders before they'd be assigned their first mission. He sighed again. He'd have to hope they wouldn't have to fight any Hollow for the next year, which was an unlikely prospect.

He looked at the paper in his hand, listing the names of his new subordinates. It was all he knew about them; their Academy records got lost somewhere in the Seireitei bureaucracy. He should look for them later. Or maybe not. He should assess their abilities himself, it would tell him more than any test results. So who were the sods he got stuck with? Kanzaki, Otonashi, Enjouji, Hamada, Kawasaki, Eishima, Mori, Kusanagi. Some of the names sounded familiar. Maybe he knew some of them at the Academy? It was possible.

Before he could remember, he arrived at the place where the new recruits were gathered. Unlike the Fourth, which gave the newbies time to adjust, the Second immediately divided them into units and considered them ready for duty. Captain Soifon didn't like wasting time on anything, which was usually good, but Hitsugaya felt that this was one occasion when it wasn't good. In his opinion, if the recruits had more time to adjust, they would have better chance of survival. In Soifon's opinion, if they didn't survive, they would have been just hindrances anyway and it was better if they got weeded out early. It sounded awfully cold to Toushirou, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it.

He banished such morose thoughts and began calling for his new underlings. In other parts of the room several of his colleagues were doing the same, so there was quite a chaos in the room. But then a tall woman approached him, introduced herself as Hamada Okimi and asked where her commanding officer was. Hitsugaya suppressed his irritation and explained that it was him. She looked at him skeptically, but said nothing. After that a large man arrived and introduced himself as Otonashi Satomi. He thankfully didn't say anything, but the look he was giving Hitsugaya wasn't exactly approving. After that Kusanagi Ritsuko appeared and smiled at Hitsugaya warmly, but something in her eyes reminded him of Matsumoto too much. She looked like she'd much rather use him as a dress-up doll then obey his orders. Mori Makio and Kawasaki Wataru arrived together. Mori tripped over his own feet and from Kawasaki's reaction it looked like it was a common occurrence. Great. A klutz was the last thing the unit needed.

And then the last two members of his team arrived and Hitsugaya immediately realized where did he hear their names before. Enjouji Yoshitsuna and his faithful sidekick Eishima Kayaku, the two banes of his Academy life. They looked even more arrogant and smug in their new shihakushou than they used to and Hitsugaya's first instinct was to bolt. Then he got a grip of himself. _I'm their superior officer now, _he reminded himself. _They can't bully me anymore. It would be insubordination. In fact, I can now get back at them for everything they put me through._ He had to stop himself from smiling. Yes, that was a very alluring idea.

"What do we have here?" Yoshitsuna sneered in greeting. "That little shrimp actually graduated?"

"Yes, Enjouji-san, four years ago," Hitsugaya informed him in his best icy tone. "And don't call me 'shrimp.' It's Tenth Seat Hitsugaya and I'm your commanding officer, so don't speak to me in such tone unless you want to be in trouble for insubordination." He expected Yoshitsuna's face to twist in horror, but it showed only disdain and cruelty.

"_You_ are my superior? There must have been a mistake."

"There wasn't a mistake," Hitsugaya assured him. "And you are going to address me with due respect or I am going to make your life hell."

"There must have been a mistake," the bully insisted. "My cousin Marechiyo would never allow something like this." _Marechiyo? _Hitsugaya blinked in surprise. Did he mean Oomaeda something long no-one cared to remember Marechiyo? As in their lieutenant? The fat guy who already disliked Hitsugaya? If those two really were related and on good terms, it didn't bode well for him. But knowing his usual luck, they probably were. And now that he looked at Yoshitsuna better, he could see certain familiar resemblance. Both were about the same height and both were large, though Yoshitsuna wasn't fat but muscular. And there was also similar setting of their jaws and eyes. He suppressed a sigh. It looked like commanding a squad of new recruits would suck even more than usual.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Though Yoshitsuna did complain to his cousin, he achieved nothing. The unit assignments were the work of Captain Soifon and she didn't like her orders messed with. Even the vice-captain could do nothing about it. But he at least promised Yoshitsuna that he'd make sure his new superior wouldn't bully him. The recruit considered it an invitation to complain about every little thing and Hitsugaya found himself called to the fukutaichou office and dressed down too often. Despite being able to defend his actions most of the time, he usually got berated that he should be more accommodating towards nobility. The lectures made him resent their fat pig of a lieutenant even more than he originally did.

He wanted to complain about Yoshitsuna too, but he had little reason. Despite his bad class ranking, Yoshitsuna turned out to be a competent shinigami, very good in Hakuda and Hohou. For a newbie, anyway. His position in class had been determined by his bad academic performance and mediocre Kidou, caused mostly by his inability to remember the incantations. Even Kayaku performed well in the field, excelling in stealth. And though their behavior showed their quiet contempt of him, they never went so far that they insulted him directly or disobeyed an order and Hitsugaya needed a better cause behind a complaint he would show to Oomaeda or even Soifon than 'they looked at me funny.' He could just imagine how well would that go. For the time being, he could do nothing but bear it.

But aside from the personal trouble, he had also a reason to rejoice. After a little over a month of trying, he achieved his first success in the field of materialization. At the end of a day filled with effort, he managed to make Hyourinmaru show in the real world for the first time. It was only an outline so faint he could barely see it and it lasted for less than a second, but it was finally something. It proved to Hitsugaya that he could do it, banishing the lingering doubt. He continued his training with renewed enthusiasm.

He also continued his training sessions with Ikeda. Though he was able to beat her in combat most of the time now, she still had a lot to teach him. She was now showing him new tactics and teaching him how to spot an enemy and be always on guard, mostly by attacking him at random times. Hitsugaya couldn't count the occasions when she got the drop on him.

Then his unit was deployed into the field for the first time, with the orders to purify a Hollow that had been spotted in Rukongai. Hitsugaya felt a sense of dread settle in his stomach as he listened to the Hell Butterfly that relayed the message. Though his subordinates all performed adequately as individuals, they had no sense of teamwork. It was caused mostly by Yoshitsuna thinking he should be in charge and that he was the best. He wasn't. That was Kanzaki, followed closely by Hamada. Yoshitsuna was third, but Kusanagi threatened to take his position. But in Yoshitsuna's mind the ranking was completely different. That was why Hitsugaya knew that this mission could end only in disaster. But he couldn't refuse it. He could only hope that Yoshitsuna and Kayaku wouldn't do the exact opposite of his orders out of spite. He barked commands at his subordinates and led them out of Seireitei. He could only pray that Yoshitsuna wouldn't do something too reckless and that he would be fast enough to save anybody who would need it.

They arrived at the assigned location shortly. South Rukongai, 16th district. Finding the Hollow itself was easy too. Its reiatsu wasn't hard to follow. Actually fighting it with a bunch of brats who obeyed him only under direct threat of grievous bodily harm would be trickier.

"We'll split into three groups and surround it, so it can't run," Hitsugaya decided. "Kanzaki will lead the first one and take Otonashi and Kusanagi. Hamada will lead the second one and take Enjouji and Eishima." He pitied Hamada for having to deal with them, but if he wanted to keep the teams of comparable strength, this was the best solution. "I will take Mori and Kawasaki." They were the weakest of his unit and he wanted to keep them close where he could protect them.

"Why am I not a team leader?" Yoshitsuna asked angrily.

"Because I said so," Hitsugaya informed him. Now was not the time to argue with the pampered noble. "You are now Hamada's subordinate and you are going to obey her, or you have a case of insubordination on your head. Understood?" Yoshitsuna made a sour face, but nodded. "Good. So now everything is clear, Kanzaki's group will flank the Hollow from the right. My group will flank it from the left. Hamada's will stay here. Once everybody is in position, we'll move at the Hollow together." The two team leaders nodded in acknowledgement. "Then go."

It took Hitsugaya's group a long time to arrive at their destination. Mori tripped twice on the way. Sometimes Hitsugaya wondered how did he ever make it to the Gotei 13. But before Hitsugaya could give the order to move, they felt a surge of reiatsu. It was familiar. It looked like Yoshitsuna was bored waiting for the order and attacked on his own. He cursed silently. He could have expected that Hamada wouldn't be able to rein in the young nobleman. But now was too late to do anything about it.

"Move!" he shouted firing the kidou signal for Kanzaki's group to do the same. At that moment he realized something. The reiatsu was coming right from where they had left Hamada's group. And the Hollow was still where it used to be. What was going on?

He understood it soon enough. A flock of little birds attacked them. They were strange birds. Their beaks, talons and even feathers were sharp and they had little bone masks on their heads. Detachments, Hitsugaya realized. Hollows with detachments were rare; he hadn't encountered one since the last Academy exercise. They also tended to be a pain to defeat. And this one promised to be the same. The birds moved very fast, attacked with ferocity and there were an awful lot of them. Hitsugaya slashed left and right, but even with his speed he couldn't block every one of them. The painful screams from behind him showed that the two rookies were faring much worse.

Hitsugaya cursed. He had to come up with a way to protect them or they would be torn into pieces. He turned around to see Mori on the ground, hiding his head in his arms. He wasn't even trying to fight anymore. Five birds were perched on his unprotected back, tearing into his flesh. Hitsugaya cut them with his zanpakutou, but they were soon replaced with new ones. And Hitsugaya was attacked too.

There was no choice anymore. "Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru!" The blast of icy reiatsu immediately froze the birds on his back. It also stifled the two rookies, but they were of no use in the fight anyway. Hitsugaya sent ice dragons flying in all directions. He quickly managed to clear the immediate area, but there were more birds flocking, preparing to attack them again.

"Bakudou #73: Tozanshou!" The inverted blue pyramid appeared around the two fallen shinigami. That should be enough to protect them. The birds weren't strong enough to break through such a powerful barrier.

He felt that Kanzaki's group was fighting now too. He cringed when he imagined how they were faring. There was only one thing he could do now: Destroy the main body. Fortunately he could feel where it was. He shunpoed towards it as far as he could.

He arrived there swiftly. He was a bit surprised that it didn't look like a bird. But the appearance of a giant nest full of eggs moving around on many tiny legs was somehow appropriate. As he arrived, many of the eggs broke and the little birds flew out. They immediately charged at Hitsugaya. The boy just swung Hyourinmaru and sent an ice dragon at it, making it as powerful and fast as he could. It shot right through the birds and hit the nest head on. It was immediately frozen and shattered.

The moment the main body was destroyed, the little birds dissolved into spiritrons too. Hitsugaya sighed in relief. The danger was over. But the mission wasn't. If even he was torn and bleeding, how did his subordinates fare? He didn't even bother to look and immediately called for the Fourth. Then he slipped into shunpo to check on his subordinates, wondering how high the casualties were.

He checked on Kanzaki's group first. All of them were torn and bloodied, but they weren't missing any body parts and neither of them seemed in danger of bleeding out either. At least something was good. Hitsugaya left them to their own devices and shunpoed to Hamada's group. The woman immediately started giving a report that they were suddenly attacked by a flock of birds which had disappeared just as suddenly. Yoshitsuna was holding his face, which was bleeding badly. His shihakushou was in ribbons and his skin scratched horribly, but he wasn't in danger. Kayaku looked worse, but even he would live until the Fourth arrived.

That left only Hitsugaya's own group to check on. Within moments, he stood next to the inverted blue pyramid and dispelled it. He knelt next to his two subordinates. Mori was lying prone on the ground, Kawasaki was sobbing.

Hitsugaya checked on Mori first. He was the one worse off. A closer look revealed that it was really bad. A major artery had been torn. It was a wonder he hadn't bled out yet. Hitsugaya quickly applied the Bakudou for emergency closing the wound. It stopped bleeding immediately, but the spell wouldn't hold for long. Hitsugaya quickly applied the general healing spell to strengthen the patient and prayed that the Fourth would show up soon.

It felt like an eternity before they finally showed up, though Hitsugaya knew that they actually made a pretty good time, considering how slow the members of the Fourth usually were. Hitsugaya was grateful that he could finally let Mori in their care. He had managed to keep the youth alive, but he knew he wouldn't have been able to for much longer.

Then was the time to assess the result of the mission. The Hollow had been purified, which made it a success, but every single member of his unit was wounded and in the care of the Fourth, including him. But at least nobody was dead. Yet. The healers weren't sure about Mori's chances. And Yoshitsuna's face was going to scar, so though they managed to save his eye, the nobleman was in a bad mood. Even the assurances of one of the nurses that scars make a man look more manly didn't help. Yoshitsuna had been always proud of his handsome (in his opinion) face and the scars were a terrible blow to his ego. He was bound to take out his frustration on somebody.

Hitsugaya sighed. Should he consider the mission a success or not? Granted, it could have been much worse, but it also could have been better. He decided to wait and see.

Finally, the next day a healer informed him that Mori was going to recover. Toushirou sighed in relief. So there were no casualties. That made his first mission with a rookie unit better than usual. It didn't matter that it would take over a month before Mori would be able to resume his duties. He was alive. Now they just had to heal, wait until they were released from the Relief Station and find out what did his subordinates learn from it.

It turned that overall they became more serious. It was no surprise. First brush with death tended to have this effect on people. They became more dedicated to their training. But some became also more fearful. Especially Kawasaki. The boy paled whenever he heard the word 'Hollow.' It didn't improve even after Mori returned. Hitsugaya wondered whether the boy would be able to fight a Hollow again or whether he would flee in terror.

And then there was Yoshitsuna. The experience seemed to change him for the worse, if that was even possible. Once the initial shock wore off, he began boasting that he had killed the highest amount of the little birds, despite it being completely untrue. And every time he retold the story, he painted himself as a better warrior, eventually claiming that he had been the only one fighting while his comrades could only scream and hide. That didn't endear him to anybody and it even caused a fight with Hamada, which Yoshitsuna lost. Being a sore loser, he took his frustration on the weaker members of the team, especially Kawasaki and Mori. Hitsugaya did all in his power to stop him, but every time his back was turned, Yoshitsuna did something again. Punishments didn't stick, only making him more bitter. Complaining didn't help, because Oomaeda always sided with his precious cousin. And Soifon didn't care. Hitsugaya could only watch helplessly as his unit was slowly falling apart and dread another disaster. He felt it was inevitable.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya studied the shimmering apparition in front of him. He concentrated hard to make it visible. So far, his materialization training was progressing well. Hyourinmaru's appearance in the real world was still very faint, but the dragon was now clearly recognizable and Hitsugaya could keep him that way for several seconds. Considering only months passed since he had begun the training, he considered it a huge success. According to the books on the subject, it usually took well over a year to reach this stage.

Despite his concentration, he noticed a slight disturbance in his surroundings. He quickly shunpoed away, letting Hyourinmaru's materialization dissipate. He reached for the hilt of his sword, but let go of it again when he recognized the intruder.

"Ikeda-sensei!"

"You should be more aware of your surroundings," she scolded. "I was here for two minutes before you noticed me." Hitsugaya looked at the ground in shame. "Aside from that, what were you doing?"

"Uhm..." Hitsugaya didn't know how he should answer. He trusted the woman, but should he tell her the truth? Training materialization at his age sounded absurd even to him. Would she laugh? Would she tell him to drop a useless pursuit?

"You don't need to be shy with me," Nagami said. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I can hazard a guess. From where I stood, it looked like you were training materialization." Toushirou felt like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He wasn't even sure why. He wasn't doing anything illegal or immoral. Inappropriate, perhaps.

"Why do you look ashamed?" the woman raised an eyebrow. "That's quite an accomplishment."

"Uh... you don't think I'm crazy?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Well, do you honestly want me to answer this question?" she countered. "But I don't think that trying to better yourself is a crazy thing to do."

"Thanks," Hitsugaya smiled.

"For what?" she questioned.

"For not laughing at me," he explained.

"Did you think I would do that?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Well..." Toushirou trailed off. Nagami shook her head.

"You did," she stated, sounding a bit disappointed. "Do you know me so little?"

"Sometimes I think I don't know you at all," Hitsugaya answered sincerely.

"You wound me. After all the time we spent together..." She didn't sound too wounded.

"But we never really confided in each other, did we?"

"We didn't," Ikeda agreed. "I'm not one for confiding in anybody."

"Neither am I."

"It's a good thing, the less people know about you, the less they can use against you," Nagami said.

"You sound paranoid when you say that," Hitsugaya remarked.

"But it's true."

"I know," Hitsugaya sighed. He knew too many people who would use anything to make his life miserable.

"So how long have you been training?" Nagami asked.

"Just a couple of months."

"A couple of months?" she raised an eyebrow. "Really? You are quite far along for that."

"Thanks," Hitsugaya replied.

"I don't even know how long it is since you graduated."

"Well, let's say that some of my former classmates are now my subordinates and others are still at the Academy."

"Really?" She was taken aback. "That's unbelievable."

"Yes," he nodded. "That's why I thought you would laugh."

"Kid, that's no laughing matter."

"I don't think it is. I just have some bad experiences with people."

"Everybody does," Ikeda answered philosophically. Hitsugaya wondered what her bad experience was, but he didn't ask. He knew that she wouldn't answer.

"Well, kid," she said after a moment, "it's nice that you're training materialization, but what about your other skills? Aren't they getting rusty?"

"Do you want to see?" he asked with a challenging smirk.

"Of course." Without another warning, she attacked. Hitsugaya blocked. Soon, they were enveloped in another sparring match.

.*****************************************************************************************.

One morning, Yoshitsuna strutted into the training grounds even more confidently than usual. Hitsugaya felt a touch of unease. Though the arrogant young aristocrat was prone to boasting, this time he looked like he had something to back it up. Did he convince Oomaeda to do something unpleasant for Hitsugaya? It seemed possible. The boy schooled his expression, not letting his worries show.

"Now that everybody is finally here," he shot a sharp glance to Yoshitsuna, reminding him that he was two minutes late, "we can begin today's training."

"Enjoy your last day of commanding me," Yoshitsuna smirked, "You won't order me around tomorrow anymore." Hitsugaya felt a sense of dread. Did the bully really convince his cousin to remove him from his position? He tried to keep his face impassive when he asked:

"And why do you think it is so?"

"I'm going to be promoted today," the young nobleman announced proudly. Hitsugaya felt a weight lift from his chest. So he wasn't in trouble without knowing it. But it brought another question.

"What makes you think you are going to be promoted?" Yoshitsuna had been in the Second Division for mere months and despite his talent, his abilities weren't exceptional.

"I've achieved shikai yesterday," Yoshitsuna announced proudly. If it was true, it would make him the first of the group. "Now I can be a seated officer. Soon, I'm going to outrank you." It was obvious from his expression that he was very much looking forward to that day. Hitsugaya doubted that it would ever happen, but if Yoshitsuna really did achieve a seated position and was transferred out of his unit, he would be only glad for it. He didn't like the nobleman's presence any more than Yoshitsuna liked his.

"That's good for you," Hitsugaya said.

"And bad for you," Yoshitsuna grinned. "Because now I have shikai, I can beat you."

"Oh?" Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. He was used to Yoshitsuna's boasting, but this was too much even for his standards. Surely even he must have noticed the difference in their power. Or did he lose his contact with reality completely? It was plausible. "What makes you think you will ever be able to do it?"

"What?" Yoshitsuna's expression reminded Hitsugaya of Kenpachi. "I'm not one for talking, so I can just show you."

"Then show me," Hitsugaya prompted, motioning for his other subordinates to empty the training grounds. He welcomed the challenge. It would be an excellent opportunity to put the conceited noble in his place.

The two opponents stood facing each other, both holding their zanpakutou on guard.

"Begin," Hitsugaya prompted.

"Your funeral," Yoshitsuna smirked. "Kazenihirugaeru, Umashippo!" _Wave in the wind, Horsetail._ Releasing already? At least Yoshitsuna realized that without his shikai he stood no chance. But he couldn't afford to get lost in his thoughts. He had to keep his eyes on the man and guess what his shikai did, lest he might lose. And that was something he couldn't allow to happen.

Yoshitsuna's wakizashi glowed with green energy before it changed shape. Instead of a blade, there were now countless whip-like strands with little fishing hooks on their ends. The whole thing resembled a horse's tail very much. Hitsugaya wondered what its ability could be. It didn't seem too dangerous as a melee combat weapon, so it probably had some kidou technique. But as to what, he could only guess. It was probably activated by the hooks. He should avoid getting hit by them.

"Well, aren't you going to release too?" Yoshitsuna prompted.

"There's no need," Hitsugaya replied evenly. If he wanted to show his superiority, he had to defeat Yoshitsuna with a sealed blade. "You won't see my shikai unless you make me use it."

"As you wish!" Yoshitsuna called and attacked. He shunpoed behind Hitsugaya and swung his weapon. Though his speed increased greatly when he released, he still couldn't touch Hitsugaya. The boy stood a good distance from Yoshitsuna and observed the results of the attack. Where some of the strands touched the grass, the blades turned brown. So the Horsetail had some special ability. Most likely poison.

Yoshitsuna realized that his prey had escaped and attacked again. This time he tried it from the front. Hitsugaya dodged. The strands lengthened and nearly hit him, but a fast shunpo saved him. A second shunpo brought him face to face with Yoshitsuna before the man could react. Hitsugaya swung Hyourinmaru down, cutting into the strands of his zanpakutou. Yoshitsuna tried to punch him, but Hitsugaya ducked under his fist. Then Yoshitsuna counterattacked with the strings that still remained attached to the hilt and Hitsugaya had to shunpo hastily again.

He stopped to observe the results of his attack. Half of the horsetail was gone, but that still left plenty of strands to fight with. Yoshitsuna, seeing what had happened to his weapon, roared in anger.

"You're going to pay!"

His next shunpo was faster than the previous ones, but still nothing Hitsugaya couldn't match. Once again, he flash-stepped into Yoshitsuna's guard. He jumped high, stepped on the nobleman's wrist and kicked his face with his other foot before shunpoing away.

Yoshitsuna's nose was red with blood and his eyes with fury. The sound he let out didn't even sound like human voice. He abandoned all pretense of strategy and charged at Hitsugaya head-on. The boy waited until he came close before acting. One shunpo brought him to Yoshitsuna's side. He slammed Hyourinmaru's hilt into the noble's wrist with all his might. Something snapped and Yoshitsuna dropped his sword, Umashippo returning to its sealed form. It's blade was chipped. Yoshitsuna roared and punched at Hitsugaya, but his abilities were too low to touch the prodigy. Hitsugaya made a short work of him.

Yoshitsuna was kneeling on the ground, alternating between cradling his broken wrist and trying to stop his nose bleeding.

"Did you have enough?" Hitsugaya asked sharply. Yoshitsuna glared. "Do you understand what did just happen?" The only answer was another glare. "You lost control," Hitsugaya explained. "That is something that must never happen. I still remember the rush I felt when I first released Hyourinmaru, but that is something you must never give in. Otherwise you would think you're unbeatable and charge into fights mindlessly and end up defeated just like you did today."

"Don't lecture me," Yoshitsuna spat. "You won't be my commander tomorrow anymore."

"Maybe I won't, but your new commander is going to tell you the same," Hitsugaya shrugged, "So you should better take this advice to heart. You shouldn't release your zanpakutou again until you are sure you can stay in control."

"I said don't command me!" The aristocrat now sounded like a petulant child, which he was.

Now Hitsugaya couldn't just take it anymore. He released his reiatsu, making it hard for the noble to breathe.

"Maybe you would be promoted soon, but for now, you are still my subordinate and what you said just now was insubordination. And I am going to report it and don't think your cousin is going to save you, so you'd better keep your mouth shut and don't dig yourself deeper."

Yoshitsuna didn't answer. He was shivering in the frigid air. Deep inside, he was scared of greater power.

"Now," Hitsugaya continued, "get to the Fourth. And the rest of the unit, we'll be training now."

.*****************************************************************************************.

Yoshitsuna was punished for the insubordination by being denied promotion and having to stay under Hitsugaya's command. The boy wondered which one of them was being punished. If Yoshitsuna used to be bad before, after releasing his shikai he had become insufferable. He was strutting everywhere, boasting his shikai and bullying his squadmates even more than he used to before acquiring it. Hitsugaya did all in his power to stop him, but the moment his back was turned, Yoshitsuna bullied somebody again. And Kayaku assisted him enthusiastically. It was almost like being at the Academy again.

The boy wanted to tear out his hair in frustration. It was impossible to make the young noble behave. No matter what Hitsugaya did or threatened to do, Yoshitsuna just complained to his cousin Marechiyo and it was Toushirou who ended up reprimanded. It was a blatant case of power abuse from the lieutenant. Hitsugaya tried to complain to Soifon, but she told him that a good commander should be able to keep order in his unit no matter what and he shouldn't go crying to her again. She did scold Oomaeda, but it helped only for about a month. After that the captain completely forgot about the whole matter and things returned to how they used to be.

Matters turned even worse when Yoshitsuna had unleashed his shikai during a sparring session and hit Hamada with it, in retaliation for the fight he had lost earlier. The poison in the little hooks of Umashippo turned the girl's skin sickly brown, making her flesh slowly decay. Unohana-taichou had to work overtime to save her and even with all her skills, it would be months before the girl would be able to return to active duty. Hitsugaya wanted to punish Yoshitsuna for it, but the arrogant noble claimed it had been an accident and Toushirou was unable to prove otherwise. If he didn't know Yoshitsuna as well as he did, he would have believed it had been an accident too. Because he did know him, he could only watch him and pray he wouldn't unleash his power on anyone else.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Suddenly receiving summons to the lieutenant's office because of some urgent and important mission wasn't so unusual. Sometimes bad things happened unexpectedly and the resulting situation had to be dealt with swiftly, but when Hitsugaya saw so many high-ranked officers of the Second assembled, he immediately understood that this was no regular emergency. His suspicion was confirmed when Oomaeda briefed them on the problem.

One of the high-ranking members of the Punishment Corps had committed a crime; the fat lieutenant didn't disclose what it was. The criminal ran away with his former comrades in hot pursuit. He managed to shake them off, killing several in the process. And now Oomaeda wanted the best of the Second to assist the Onmitsukidou in apprehending the culprit. When the Seventh Seat pointed out that it was highly unusual and captain Soifon probably wouldn't approve, Oomaeda replied that the situation was highly unusual and the Captain was away, so they should better obey him. Hitsugaya suspected that the not entirely competent lieutenant had messed up and wanted to cover it up before Soifon comes back and finds out. He didn't say it aloud; he didn't want to be in even more trouble with the lieutenant than he already was. And besides, he was sure that Oomaeda just dug himself deeper, because there was no way Soifon was going to be happy with this.

The briefing was concluded when Oomaeda told them where the culprit had been seen last and they were sent on their way. It was only then that Hitsugaya realized that the lieutenant didn't tell them anything about the culprit and his abilities. The mission would have been much easier if they knew what his zanpakutou could do, but it was too late now to ask.

They soon arrived at the place the rogue was spotted last and met with a leader of a Punishment Corps team, who wasn't happy to see them. It was obvious despite his mask. But he didn't say anything and directed them to where the latest sighting of the fugitive occurred. There they were met by another Onmitsukidou ninja who wasn't as unhappy to see them, probably because he had just lost a subordinate who had spotted the criminal. He informed them that they narrowed down the area the fugitive could be hiding in and that they had him surrounded. They didn't want to actually attack him, because he was stronger than most of their members. The Onmitsukidou unit commander ordered them to take positions around the perimeter and then gave the command to move forward.

Hitsugaya was moving alongside one masked member of the Shadow Ops, trying his best to be stealthy. But he was failing miserably. He could feel the occasional spikes in his reiatsu and his companion could too, judging from the disapproving glances he was shooting him above his mask. Hitsugaya smiled at him sheepishly and concentrated on maintaining at least this level of control over his power.

There was suddenly a flare of reiatsu somewhere on their right. Toushirou turned that way, but it was over almost as abruptly as it appeared. Yet he was sure what he had felt. A fight had just happened there. Hitsugaya's first instinct was to race there, but then he remembered that he should stick to the group strategy. He didn't receive orders telling him to abandon his position and join the fight. Maybe there was no need and the fugitive was already subdued. He shot a glance at his companion. The Onmitsukidou agent was standing calmly, not showing a sign of agitation. Toushirou envied him his composure.

"Attention," a voice spoke right beside his ear. The boy jumped before he realized that it was just Bakudou #77: Tenteikuura. The commander was issuing new orders. "Fugitive spotted at area 15. Teams One and Three, move onto his position and eliminate him. Others, tighten the perimeter around the area." Hitsugaya was neither in Team One or Team Three, so he moved alongside his partner to tighten the perimeter around the patch of forest the fight had happened in. Then he waited for what would happen next.

Another spikes in reiatsu informed him that there was another battle going on. He breathed in sharply when he recognized one of them as belonging to Ikeda-sensei. He was worried about her. How would she fare about somebody who had defeated the elite of Onmitsukidou? But Ikeda was good. Though she had never confirmed it, Hitsugaya was convinced she used to be one of the best in the Punishment Corps, before she had left them for reasons unknown. She would be fine.

Then the fight ended. Hitsugaya waited for another report telling them how did it end, but it didn't come. He felt that it was a bad omen. If the culprit had been killed or captured, they would be informed that they weren't needed anymore. The fact that no message came signified that the battle didn't go their way. He couldn't help but worry about Ikeda. Was she alright?

He waited alert, his senses searching for the smallest sign that somebody was near. Somebody might call him paranoid, but as Ikeda-sensei beat into him mercilessly, there wasn't such a thing as being too cautious. Especially not in a combat situation. Therefore he was the first one to notice a person heading their way, despite their suppressed reiatsu. They were still stepping on some dried leaves and rustling the branches. He shunpoed to intercept them.

The person was leaning on a tree, catching her breath. When Hitsugaya appeared close, she turned around. He recognized her immediately.

"Ikeda-sensei," he smiled. So she was alright. He felt a great weight lift from his heart. At the moment his Onmitsukidou partner landed next to him.

"You shouldn't have left your position," he scolded.

"But somebody was coming," Toushirou defended. "What happened?" he asked Ikeda, who had walked over to them during their conversation.

"A battle," she answered. Hitsugaya blinked. There was something wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. In the next moment the Onmitsukidou ninja collapsed, his head cut off by Ikeda's zanpakutou. Hitsugaya jumped back in shock.

"Ikeda-sensei," he whispered. The woman shunpoed behind him and tried to take his head too. He blocked with Hyourinmaru instinctively. Ikeda attacked again, this time raising her reiatsu. Hitsugaya blocked, but the strength behind her strike pushed him back. And Toushirou understood what was wrong. It wasn't Ikeda's reiatsu. It wasn't Ikeda. Just somebody who looked like her. Somebody who killed Onmitsukidou agents. Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed.

"You are that criminal," he spoke. "What have you done with Ikeda? And how do you look like her?"

"So that was her name?" the shinigami wearing Ikeda's face asked. Toushirou noticed the past tense and a sense of dread settled in his stomach. "I can take the appearance of anyone my sword hit. And I'm no criminal!" he shouted angrily. "And you are in my way."

The rogue attacked with lightning speed. Only Hitsugaya's reflexes honed during countless hours of training with Ikeda saved him from being cut in half. He silently thanked his teacher for them and promised to avenge her. They exchanged several blows, with neither of them gaining the upper hand. Then the murderer suddenly shunpoed away. Hitsugaya pursued him. He wasn't sure why the man was running, but he was determined not to let him get away. Yet the former Onmitsukidou agent was gaining. No matter how fast Hitsugaya went, the distance between them grew. But there was still a faint trace of reiatsu in the air he could follow.

Then he realized that he was getting closer. The fugitive had stopped. Perhaps he was tired or maybe he had a wound Hitsugaya didn't see that was slowing him down. Whatever the case, Hitsugaya considered it lucky for him.

Hitsugaya saw him standing in the middle of a clearing, a tall figure in torn and bloodstained Onmitsukidou uniform, clearly waiting for him. He didn't look like Ikeda-sensei anymore, something Hitsugaya was grateful for. He moved to jump in front of him, but something warned him about danger from the behind. He twisted his body and swung Hyourinmaru to block. He managed to only deflect the enemy's blade so it didn't plunge into his heart but only slid across his ribs painfully. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the image of the man standing in the clearing dissipate. An afterimage, he realized. Very advanced Hohou technique he had only heard about. If that man had mastered it, it meant that he was very, very good. Hitsugaya realized that he was now alive only because the rogue had considered his nameless Onmitsukidou partner the greater threat. Well, the prodigy was determined to correct the misconception.

"You're good to have blocked this," the man spoke. "But you shouldn't have followed me here. You could have survived."

"You shouldn't have hurt Ikeda-sensei," Hitsugaya replied, looking for any sign that the man was about to attack again. "You could have survived."

"Big words for such a little one," the criminal scoffed. "Do you have what it takes to back them up?"

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Toushirou prompted. He shunpoed to the side without waiting for the man to move first. It turned out to be a smart move. The unknown man's zanpakutou cut the air in the spot he had been standing a moment before. Hitsugaya shunpoed behind him to attack, but the man he sliced in half turned out to be another afterimage. And then he had to block another stab from behind.

This went on for several minutes. The two combatants would use shunpo to try to catch the other one off guard. Hitsugaya acquired several wounds, but none of them serious. Then he managed to score a hit too, when he surprised the murderer with attacking from a crouch and aiming at his knees when the man had clearly expected an attack at his kidneys. The tip of Hyourinmaru sliced through the muscle in the upper calf before the ninja shunpoed to safety.

"That was a nice move," the rogue commented, testing how his leg worked. It wasn't good, his use of the limb was hindered. Hitsugaya saw it and attacked, but he could still shunpo alright and escaped. "But this isn't going to save you. Let's get serious. Warau, Noumen!" _Smile (or rather sneer), Noh mask._ Energy swirled around the man and his reiatsu rose, but otherwise little seemed to happen. Only the blade of his zanpakutou changed color to a lighter shade. Hitsugaya knew that it didn't mean anything. His Hyourinmaru didn't change much when released into shikai too. Speaking of which...

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru," Hitsugaya called his own release. He couldn't afford to hold back against this opponent, especially when he had released. The man was clearly on lieutenant level and he wasn't a slouch like Oomaeda.

"Kiesaru, Noumen!" _Disappear._ The fugitive's form suddenly became transparent and in the next moment vanished instantly. Hitsugaya tried to locate him by his reiatsu, but he found out that he couldn't. Though he could still feel the other's man's reiatsu, he couldn't pinpoint its origin. The best he could get was 'somewhere nearby.'

He shunpoed. He didn't care where, he knew that if he stayed on one spot too long, the enemy he couldn't see would strike him down before he realized what happened. He frantically searched for a way out of this situation. He had to pinpoint his opponent location somehow. If sight and reiatsu sense didn't work, what was left?

"You said you weren't a criminal, so why are they after you?" Hitsugaya called. Maybe if the man answered, he could find him by sound.

"They said I was unstable." The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once, like an echo reflected from multiple surfaces. Hitsugaya cursed silently. This didn't work too. But if the man kept talking, it would give him time to come up with another plan. "After I've served them for so long, they wanted to lock me away! But I won't go to the Maggot's Nest!" As Hitsugaya listened to the rant, he thought that the people who called him unstable probably were onto something. He certainly didn't sound completely sane.

"What's the Maggot's Nest?" he asked, trying to keep the man talking. His eyes were darting back and forth, trying to find a clue to where his invisible opponent was.

"It's..." And at that moment Hitsugaya noticed it. The grass bent and moved unnaturally at a certain place. That was where the man was standing. He seized the opportunity and attacked. A quick shunpo brought him at the spot and he swung Hyourinmaru wildly, but he was too slow. The man dodged at the last moment. Realizing this, Hitsugaya dodged too, but he still felt the murderer's blade cutting into the skin on his back. So this didn't work. But at least, for a moment, he had an idea where the man was. But the grass wasn't reliable enough. It didn't cover the whole clearing. He needed something else. Something that would show him where the rogue was much more clearly than the blades of grass. Fortunately he knew just how to accomplish it.

"Tensou Juurin!" The clouds that had covered the sky when he had released his sword, thickened and it started to snow. Hitsugaya urged it to snow faster. Soon the ground was covered in a white blanked that would show the murderer's footprints clearly. Unfortunately the former Onmitsukidou agent had no intention of making it so easy for him. He moved with shunpo, meaning that when Hitsugaya spotted his footprints, it would be already too late. The boy only narrowly escaped an attack from behind. Then he paused. How did he know the man was behind him? He couldn't sense him, he couldn't hear him and he couldn't see him. Yet he just knew he was there and he had been right, as a tear in his sleeve proved.

"_**It's the snow in the air."**_

"_Hyourinmaru?"_

"_**It's filled with your reiatsu,"**_the zanpakutou spirit explained. _**"It's a part of me and therefore a part of you too. You can feel when somebody touches it if you concentrate."**_

"_Thanks, Hyourinmaru__," _Hitsugaya smiled. _"This is really helpful. But right now I can't feel him at all."_

"_**You need more practice to be able to find him at distance."**_

There was no time to gain any experience with this technique now, but it was still better than nothing. The next time he sensed the fugitive behind him, he attempted a counterattack. He spun on his heel and swung Hyourinmaru horizontally. But his wrist was gripped by a big hand and his strike was stopped. He kicked at where he thought the rogue's stomach was. He missed. Then sharp pain blossomed in his chest.

Toushirou immediately knew that the wound was serious. His training in the Fourth let him know exactly which internal organs were stabbed and how much he needed medical treatment pronto. He had only seconds to do something before the wound would render him unable to fight and his opponent would finish him off.

He reacted on instinct. He sent as much of his reiryoku as he could into the blade still piercing his lung. It froze completely immediately. He felt its owner tug at it, throwing him off balance, but he couldn't pull it out. Toushirou felt the hand on his wrist disappear. He capitalized on the opportunity immediately. He swung Hyourinmaru down, cutting through the arm holding the sword. The moment the direct connection between the zanpakutou and its wielder was severed, Noumen's shikai disappeared. Its wielder appeared in front of Hitsugaya, staring at the blood flowing from the stump of his arm stupidly. Hitsugaya stabbed at him, but the man wasn't the elite of Onmitsukidou for nothing. Despite the pain and the distraction, he noticed the attack in time and shunpoed away.

He appeared at the edge of the clearing. Hitsugaya followed him. Thanks to the blade in his lung, he could barely breathe, but he wasn't bleeding, unlike his opponent, who would bleed out soon. Hitsugaya slashed at him. Both of them were severely hindered in their movements, but Hitsugaya still had his shikai released, which gave him the advantage necessary. Hyourinmaru carved a deep gash into the fugitive's chest before he shunpoed away. Hitsugaya followed him again. He was feeling faint thanks to the lack of oxygen, but he still had some strength left. And his opponent was weakening rapidly too. This time Hitsugaya's strike injured his other arm and when the man tried to dodge, he was so disoriented he crashed into a tree. Hitsugaya was upon him in a heartbeat, driving his sword into the murderer's neck.

His strength was waning more than he thought, because he couldn't sever the head from the body completely. But Hyourinmaru had cut through the jugular and windpipe, leaving only the spine untouched. That was a fatal wound even for a high-level shinigami, but Hitsugaya just had to make sure. With the last of his strength he lifted Hyourinmaru again, driving it into the skull through the ear and freezing the brain inside. Then his strength left him completely and he let go of his weapon. His shikai disappeared and with it the strain on his energy. It made him feel a bit less faint, but he still had barely the strength to lift a finger. He collapsed to the ground, making his wound hurt more than it already did. He wished he would faint, but his body insisted stubbornly on staying awake. He couldn't understand why. It wasn't like he had enough strength for a healing kidou. All he could do was lie quietly and hope somebody would find him soon. Considering the reiatsu released during their fight, all nearby shinigami patrols should be checking what was going on.

Until then, he had nothing to do but stare into the dead face of the man he had killed. He had killed a man. Only now the realization came. Before, he had seen him just as an enemy. Somebody he had to kill or be killed. But now he saw him as another human being. Sure, a human being who had hurt Ikeda-sensei... and what was with Ikeda? He hoped beyond hope that she was alright, but he had a sinking feeling that she wasn't. Against an enemy like this, who could take on the face of a comrade or disappear completely and then kill with a single strike, even her abilities weren't enough. There was still the chance that he had merely wounded her, but it was slim. The Punishment Corps attacked to kill. They were trained that way.

The thought about Ikeda-sensei being dead brought a cold feeling to his heart, one he couldn't chalk off to the frozen sword piercing his chest. Tears welled in his eyes, falling to the ground and freezing. He didn't care that crying was childish. Ikeda Nagami meant too much to him. She was the closest friend, the only friend he made in the Gotei 13. In a way, she might have been closer than even Hinamori. Without her, life suddenly seemed bleak.

He felt several spiritual presences appearing nearby. Somebody found them. He supposed he should be relieved, but he felt only numb and cold. He heard voices, but he didn't register what they were saying. They approached closer, but he didn't care. He just wanted to sleep. Then one of them touched him and moved him. Pain shot through him again. This time he mercifully fainted.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He heard voices. That was the first thought that registered in his mind. Some of the voices sounded vaguely familiar. That was the second. Somebody just spoke his name. That was the third.

Hitsugaya opened his eyes. He was staring at a white ceiling. He was in the Fourth Division's Relief Station. So he had survived the battle after all. He turned his head to see who was talking about him. Three people stood there. He immediately recognized them as Captain Unohana, Captain Soifon and Lieutenant Oomaeda. Soifon was speaking.

"So this little one defeated Eminoshi?" There was a hint of disbelief in her voice. _Smile of death? What did it mean? _ Hitsugaya thought in confusion. Then he realized that it must have been the codename of the rogue Onmitsukidou assassin. It sounded fitting. Smile referred to both his release command and the expression on his face while killing, Death would describe his effectiveness.

"Yes," Oomaeda nodded, for once not munching on his rice crackers. Unohana must have forbidden them in the hospital; even Soifon could never get him to stop stuffing himself. "He fought him all alone."

"And why was he fighting him all alone?" Soifon questioned. "Why was he fighting him at all?" She was clearly angry. Oomaeda either didn't notice it or was too used to such moods in his captain, because his answer sounded completely undisturbed.

"He pursued Eminoshi when he was running away," her second-in-command explained.

"And why was he even in the hunting party?" Soifon pressed. "He isn't Onmitsukidou. Why did you draw on the Second Division? That was an Onmitsukidou internal affair. You shouldn't have dragged outsiders into it."

"I needed more manpower," the fat lieutenant explained.

"More manpower?" Soifon raised an eyebrow. "The Gotei 13 shinigami aren't trained to fight other shinigami. I thought you knew that, but I've apparently overestimated your mental capacity. Thanks to your blunder, we lost eight of them and three others might not recover. And that isn't including the losses in Onmitsukidou."

"But what else I could do?" Oomaeda asked.

"You could have informed me," the captain answered. "I would have dealt with Eminoshi myself and there would have been no unnecessary casualties."

"But your mission..."

"Wasn't that urgent," she interrupted. "I could have found and eliminated the rogue in under a day and gone back to business. There was no need for this bloodshed."

"Here isn't the place or time for this argument," Unohana's soft voice interrupted them. The pair immediately fell silent. Hitsugaya found it funny. So even other captains were scared of Unohana. "You're disturbing my patient. He's awake." Two pairs of eyes turned to him. Soifon walked to his bed.

"Report," she commanded.

"His lung still hasn't healed fully," Unohana interjected. "Speaking is painful for him." Soifon had little sympathy for subordinates in pain, but she didn't dare to cross Unohana. Hitsugaya took a deep breath.

"I can speak," he whispered. It hurt, but so did breathing. It didn't really matter which one he would be doing.

"Good," Soifon said. "Your report." Hitsugaya nodded and began recounting the events that led to his battle with the fugitive. The captain listened in silence.

"It was stupid going after him alone," she remarked.

"There was no-one to call on. And his trace was cooling," Hitsugaya explained. Soifon's stony face didn't show what she thought about it.

"Continue," she prompted. So Hitsugaya told her how he caught up with the rogue and about their fight. He almost told her what he and Eminoshi had been talking about, but then he realized that it was probably classified and he shouldn't reveal that he'd heard about it. So he just said that he goaded the man into talking.

"You were very lucky," Soifon said when he finished.

"I know," Hitsugaya nodded. "There were several moments when he could kill me and I couldn't do a thing about it. But he was too crazy to take the opportunities."

"Even so, you shouldn't have been able to defeat him."

"I know. It was only when he stabbed me that I knew exactly where he was. He didn't count on me being able to trap his sword. And that I would be able to tell when he was right behind me."

"How were you able to tell?" she inquired.

"It's part of my zanpakutou's power. I can feel the ice around me, almost like an extension of my body. When he disturbed it, I knew. But I'm not good enough with it to locate him at a distance or to be able to fight him without seeing him. I just could tell when he was close and where." Soifon acknowledged the explanation with a nod.

"Still, you shouldn't have been able to defeat somebody of his strength. Eminoshi was better than most lieutenants, if not all of them." Hitsugaya didn't doubt it. With his speed, stealth and ability to look like someone else, he must have been the perfect assassin. Even in direct battle, his strength was devastating.

"What happened to Ikeda?" Hitsugaya finally voiced the question that had been bugging him.

"She's dead," Soifon answered baldly. "She was among those killed by Eminoshi."

Hitsugaya felt as if he was struck by lightning. Ikeda-sensei was dead. He had suspected as much, but hearing it now made it final. His shock wasn't lost on his superior, but Soifon had little sympathy for him. She wasn't in the habit of caring for her subordinates.

"You could have ended up dead too easily," she scolded him. Hitsugaya nodded. He knew it was true too well. "You might have power, but you are too cocky, rash and undisciplined. Kids like you never live long." Then she turned and left, followed closely by Oomaeda. Hitsugaya wasn't sure what to think about it. For a moment, it sounded almost like she was concerned about him. Nah. It was Soifon. She was never concerned about anyone.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The day he was finally cleared for duty, Hitsugaya walked to the training grounds slowly. He was taking in everything that went on around him. It was infuriatingly normal. Nothing had changed since the last time he had been here, only Ikeda-sensei was dead. Ikeda-sensei was dead and nobody seemed to care. He hadn't been able to attend her funeral, he had missed it while he had been confined in the hospital. It made him want to simultaneously shout in outrage, beat somebody until they noticed and cry like a baby. But he couldn't do it. He was a shinigami, an officer, and he had to carry on his duties despite the grief in his heart. His face showed nothing of his turmoil when he met his unit for their regular training.

"So our esteemed leader finally bothered to show up," Yoshitsuna sneered. Hitsugaya blinked. He didn't even realize when he had stepped on the training grounds. Now he saw that his whole unit was now waiting for him. He had dragged his feet so slowly that he had actually come late. After insisting his unit was punctual for so long, the young noble was bound to milk his tardiness for all it was worth and then some. And that was something Hitsugaya was in no mood for today.

"Quiet," he snapped. "And now everybody's here, we can begin training."

"You're the one who came late," Yoshitsuna sneered. "What's the problem? Couldn't get up in the morning when your mommy wasn't there to wake you up and help you dress? Oh, sorry, she isn't here anymore," he added in a mocking tone. In the next moment he was lying flat on his back, a bruise forming on his broken jaw. Hitsugaya towered above him (quite a feat, considering his height), shaking in rage, his unchecked reiatsu freezing the surroundings and forcing most of his subordinates to their knees. Otonashi fainted.

"Don't ever speak like that again," Hitsugaya growled, oblivious to his unit's predicament. He had his eyes only for Yoshitsuna, who was trembling in fright and struggled to breathe. How dare that jerk speak about Ikeda like that? Didn't he have a shred of decency? Probably not. "Is it clear?" Yoshitsuna couldn't speak. Hitsugaya's unchecked reiatsu was suffocating him. He could only nod. The white-haired boy scared him terribly at the moment.

"Good," Hitsugaya growled. Finally noticing the effect his outburst had on his surroundings, he struggled to suppress his reiatsu. It struck him how stupid and impulsive he had just acted. Punching one's subordinates, who just happened to be his lieutenant's cousin, wasn't a good idea. Sure, Yoshitsuna had it coming for being a mean jerk, but those who had been merely standing around did nothing to deserve it. How could he have lost his temper so badly? But Ikeda-sensei was dead and Yoshitsuna was making fun of it. And watching the young nobleman as he struggled to his feet now, his eyes ablaze with hate and defiance, Toushirou could see that he was going to run to complain to Oomaeda now and then do it again, and probably come up with something even more insensitive. The boy wasn't sure what he would do in that case.

_I can__'t take this anymore, _he thought. Yoshitsuna's and Kayaku's sneers and remarks, the trouble with his dysfunctional unit, Oomaeda's scrutiny, Soifon's disapproval of his bad performance as a squad commander, Ikeda-sensei not being here anymore. With her, he had something to look forward to, something to lighten his day, but now this had been taken from him forever. He had avenged her, but now he had the blood of a man on his hands. Sure, Eminoshi had been dangerous, but Toushirou wasn't convinced he had been truly evil. Merely insane. And there was the threat that should he stay in the Second for long, he would be dragged into another 'special operation' again. He knew he couldn't take it.

_I'm out of here, _he decided. He didn't care that it felt like running. If he had to stay here, he would probably end up killing Yoshitsuna. And he had no desire to get even deeper in trouble than he already was. He wondered what Hyourinmaru thought about his plan, but the zanpakutou spirit remained silent. But no matter what the dragon would say, Toushirou had already decided. He was leaving the Second. But where would he go? It didn't really matter. There wasn't any special skill he wanted to study. He just needed a quiet place to practice the materialization.

_The moment the training ends, I'm going to ask around which division is looking for new officers._


	11. Falling

**Author's note:** It took longer than I expected, but the next chapter is finally here. I hope it is up to your standards. I've uploaded the illustration for the last chapter. You can find it on my DA profile (link is on my author's profile, for those who have been skipping my Author's Notes up to now). I made an illustration for this chapter too, but as I am currently without access to a scanner, I cant post it yet. I should be able to post it on Thursday or Friday. As a bonus, there might be two pictures this time.

As for when the next chapter would be up, well, I make no promisses. I have about a half of it finished, but it proves to be the hardest chapter to write, with the unwritten half being the really tough one. I hope that once I get over it, the future upates will be more frequent.

That being said, read and enjoy.**  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.  
**

**On the Frozen Plain - Falling**

.*****************************************************************************************.

By some accident, he transferred to the Eighth on the same day the Academy graduates arrived. He ended up waiting for his new assignment together with them. As he watched them, he realized he recognized several of them vaguely. He had attended classes with them when he had first entered the Academy. Most of them he didn't remember by names, but he recognized Yumiko. And the girl recognized him. She crossed the room and greeted him.

"Hitsugaya-kun!" she smiled. "What a surprise. But what are you doing here? I thought you graduated early."

"I did," he answered. Several people looked at the boy dubiously. "I just transferred here. I was told to wait here for my instructions."

"Oh. So how is the life in the Gotei 13?" Yumiko asked. She sounded eager for the great adventure ahead. Hitsugaya wondered whether he had ever been like her. The answer was yes, but it felt so long ago, despite it being only a few years. So many things had happened since them, stripping him off the optimism he hadn't known he possessed. He wondered how long it would take before it would happen to Yumiko too.

"That depends of what division you are in," Hitsugaya replied, thinking back on his experiences. He didn't want to go into details. The girl would find out the hard way soon enough.

"And how's the Eighth?" she inquired.

"I haven't found out yet," he answered sincerely.

"Oh," she made an apologetic face, "well, I hope it will be good."

"So do I," he sighed wearily.

Before they could say anything else, the door to the room opened and in walked Captain Kyouraku, looking slightly inebriated, Lieutenant Ise trailing behind him, looking strict.

"Hello everybody!" the pink-clad man greeted cheerfully. Nanao scowled disapprovingly. "Well, now you're all members of the Eighth Division, so be proud of yourselves, work hard and have a drink." Nanao slammed Kyouraku on the head. Shunsui turned to her with wounded puppy eyes.

"What was that for, Nanao-chan?"

"Be serious for once," she chastised him. "This isn't what you are supposed to say to the new recruits."

Hitsugaya blinked in surprise. He wasn't the only one. He had seen many strange things during his time in the Gotei 13, but never before had he seen a lieutenant scolding her taichou. Granted, Kyouraku deserved it, but it was still weird. Hitsugaya decided that if he ever made captain, he'd find a Second Seat who would be well-behaved and obey him unquestioningly.

At that time, Kyouraku's eyes fell on Hitsugaya. He blinked as if to doublecheck what he was seeing. "They're making them smaller and smaller," the pink-clad man commented. Hitsugaya bristled. Why did everybody have to comment on his size? He was fed up with it. "I didn't hear there was somebody so young among this bunch of recruits."

"There wasn't," Ise-fukutaichou supplied. "Hitsugaya-san transferred here from the Second."

"Oh," Kyouraku lifted his head. "So this is the 'experienced officer' we're getting?"

"Yes," Hitsugaya and Nanao answered in unison.

"Wow, are you related?" Shunsui commented.

"Don't mind my captain," Nanao said. "He can be a bit odd at times."

"I realized that the moment he first denied my application saying that I'm neither a pretty girl nor can hold a drinking contest with him," the boy answered.

"You did what?" Ise-fukutaichou asked scandalized. "Did you fill the paperwork drunk?"

"I did?" Kyouraku scratched his head. "I don't remember."

"It was five years ago," Hitsugaya shrugged.

"I wasn't his lieutenant back then," Nanao mused aloud. "Isogai-fukutaichou wasn't minding you enough. I wouldn't let you write such drivel. And don't think you'd get out of doing your paperwork if you try this."

"Well," Shunsui agreed reluctantly before turning to Toushirou. "But we still have to hold the drinking contest."

"No!" Hitsugaya and Ise shouted in unison. Kyouraku raised an eyebrow at the reaction.

"Captain," Nanao spoke, "you don't want to see him drunk. Never."

"No?" The captain looked more curious than discouraged.

"No," the lieutenant confirmed. "And now, you still have to deliver a speech to the recruits. And make it a serious one. These poor little dears are already confused." That was an understatement. The recruits looked like everybody just sprouted a second head.

"Ah? Yes," Kyouraku nodded. "But I'm no good at being serious." Nanao sighed.

"Don't I know."

.*****************************************************************************************.

After spending time in so many different divisions, Hitsugaya had an idea what to expect upon joining a new one. The Eight Division reminded him a lot of the Third, mainly because they both were fairly 'normal' divisions, as far as any part of Gotei 13 could be called normal. But the atmosphere in the Eight seemed brighter somehow, probably because they didn't live with the insecurity of being long-term without a captain. Captain Kyouraku was the embodiment of security. Ever since the founding of the Gotei 13, his subordinates could always depend on him being there, usually drunk and chasing after girls. Hitsugaya was surprised that it didn't cause the discipline to deteriorate, but he concluded that it must be thanks to Ise-fukutaichou. She was the exact opposite of her captain, always stern and strict and hard-working and the person thanks to whom things got done in the Eighth. If Kyouraku-taichou was left to his own devices, he would probably just slack off and hope that things would sort themselves out. Eventually.

He was a bit concerned when he realized that one of his superiors would be Yoshitsuna's older brother. Tatsufusa resembled his younger sibling a lot, both in appearance and arrogance, but fortunately he wasn't really a bully. And he didn't really get on with Yoshitsuna, so he wasn't interested in causing trouble for Hitsugaya. It made the boy immensely relieved.

Not too long after his joining the Eighth, the time for Officers' trials came. Hitsugaya didn't take them. He didn't see the point. He knew he was better than a Tenth Seat, but he felt no desire for it to be officially recognized. Higher rank meant more responsibilities and less time for his materialization training. And though higher rank would earn him more respect, he couldn't bring himself to care. Few things seemed important or interesting enough after the death of Ikeda-sensei. He knew that he was probably depressed, but he couldn't bring himself to care either. He just went through his daily routines and hoped it would get better with time.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Shiro-chan? What are you doing here?" That question brought a sudden sense of déjà-vu. Hitsugaya slowly turned around.

"Momo! What are you doing here?" he asked without any real interest. He had a suspicion what the answer was going to be.

"I came to deliver some paperwork here," she said. Oh, so she wasn't visiting a friend from the SWA today? "I also wanted to talk to Ise-fukutaichou about something for the SWA." Ah. So he was right. "What about you?"

"I transferred here," he answered.

"And you forgot to tell me again?" Hinamori sounded angry.

"Yes," he answered sincerely, not even bothering to come up with an excuse. It would have been pointless anyway.

"Well, while I'm glad you're finally out of the Second, what's wrong with you that you can't stay in the same division for more than two years?" the girl continued her tirade.

"Nothing's wrong," he answered defensively. Everything was wrong, but he didn't want to bother Momo with his problems. With her sunny disposition, she would never understand. But Hinamori knew him too well to be fooled.

"Seriously, Shiro-chan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he shrugged. "I already told you."

"Something is definitely wrong," she stated with conviction. "You didn't even correct me when I called you Shiro-chan."

"I told you not to call me that!" Hitsugaya snapped.

"Now you remembered to get angry," Hinamori commented. "Before you didn't even twitch. That means something is very wrong."

"Nothing is wrong," Toushirou repeated stubbornly. "And didn't you have some paperwork to drop off?"

"Don't try to get rid of me," she scolded. "It isn't that easy. You are going to tell me what's wrong with you."

"It's nothing," Hitsugaya tried to convince her to let the matter drop for one last time. He didn't have to bother.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Hinamori sighed. "Tell you what: I'm going to drop off this paperwork and then we're going to have a long talk in private."

"I told you..." Hitsugaya began, but Hinamori ignored his protests.

"I know a perfect place where we can go. They make the best amanattou."

"Really?" Toushirou asked half-heartedly.

"Now I see how seriously wrong things are with you," Momo stated. "We are having a talk and you aren't getting out of it. Wait here, I'll be back soon." And she rushed off to hand in her pile of paperwork.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Half an hour later, they were sitting in a park, a bag of amanattou between them. Hitsugaya took one from the bag and chewed on it absentmindedly.

"So will you tell me what's wrong now?" Hinamori prodded. "I haven't seen you looking so down since... well, I've never seen you looking so down."

"Hm," Hitsugaya shrugged, taking another jelly bean.

"You know, it would be easier if you answered my questions," the girl suggested.

"Hm." Hitsugaya didn't feel talkative and hoped that Momo would get the hint.

"And 'hm' isn't an answer," Hinamori scowled. "Would it kill you to answer in whole sentences? Or do you want to keep me guessing? Or do I have to pry it from you? And don't try to tell me that you are alright."

"I don't want to talk about it." Once again, she ignored his wish.

"But you are going to. It's going to make you feel better."

"Hm."

"Seriously, Shiro-chan," she sighed, "don't bottle it up."

"Don't call me Shiro-chan!" he scowled.

"I'll stop when you stop acting like a child," she said.

"I'm not acting like a child!" Toushirou pouted.

"You are," she stated. "So be mature and tell me."

"I don't see what it has to do with being mature," Hitsugaya objected.

"That's because you're a child," Hinamori answered. "So will you tell me?"

"I don't feel like it," the boy snapped.

"You're being such a brat," Momo sighed.

"Right back at you. Why do you want to know so much? Can't you resist your curiosity?"

"Don't avoid the subject," she scowled.

"You're the one avoiding it," he shot back.

"And you're the one acting like a child."

"I'm not," he pouted.

"You are." Then she sighed. "We didn't come here to argue. Why do you have to be so difficult all the time?"

"I'm not," he protested, but she ignored him.

"So it looks like I'm going to have to pry it out of you."

"I'm not telling." Now he was really being childish and stubborn, but he didn't care.

"You really are impossible," Hinamori sighed. "If you aren't telling me, could you at least tell someone else? Like that new friend of yours? Ikeda-san was her name?"

Hitsugaya flinched. Momo noticed it.

"What is it?" she asked. "Did you two have a spat?" Hitsugaya wondered how Momo could be still so naive after five years in the Gotei 13. Even the harsh reality of their life and the dangers they faced couldn't cure of her optimism. Though he wished she was right and he and Ikeda-sensei just had a spat. Then they could be reconciled. But now, he was never going to see her again.

"What is it?" Hinamori asked upon noticing his rapidly worsening mood. "Did something happen to her?" Toushirou felt his breath catch in his throat. His eyes were watering. He blinked back the tears furiously. He wasn't going to cry, he just wasn't. Not in front of Hinamori. "What happened to her, Shiro-chan?" Momo asked softly. He couldn't find it in himself to get angry at the nickname. He was too busy fighting the losing battle against tears.

Then he suddenly felt Momo's arms around him. "Oh, Shiro-chan," she said. "Something really bad happened, didn't it?" A small part of Hitsugaya wanted to scold her for treating him like a child, but the bigger one insisted he throw his arms around Hinamori and cry like a baby, so he did it. And he didn't care how childish it made him look. There just was no holding back the flood of tears anymore. He sobbed into Momo's shoulder while the girl whispered soothing nonsense into his ear. He had no idea how long had they stayed like this before he stopped. He didn't exactly feel better, but at least he didn't feel like crying anymore. He composed himself as best as he could after abandoning his dignity so completely and freed himself from Momo's arm.

"She's dead, isn't she?" the girl asked. Toushirou was a bit surprised that somebody so cheerful and innocent could even come up with the possibility, but Momo had been serving in the Gotei 13 for just as long as he was. She must have seen her fair share of death. He nodded mutely.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he replied.

"I wasn't there for you when it happened," she elaborated. "When did it happen, anyway?"

"It's almost two months now."

"And I had no idea. I've been a terrible friend, haven't I?"

"You had no way of knowing," he said. "And I didn't tell you about it."

"Still, I should visit you more often," Hinamori sighed. "But I'm always so busy. I'm the Fifth Seat now and that is a lot of work. And I have to do my best for Aizen-taichou." She completely missed Toushirou's grimace.

"I understand," he said. "The higher the seat, the more responsibility."

"You say that like it was a bad thing," she remarked. "Speaking of which, why are you still a Tenth Seat? You are a Tenth Seat, aren't you?"

"Yes," he confirmed.

"But you were always better than me. You should be a Fifth Seat by now too, or even Fourth or Third. So why are you still stuck so low?"

"I don't feel like trying for a higher position," he answered.

"But why?" she asked in confusion. "Are you lazy or what?"

"No!" he snapped. Hinamori recoiled. "Sorry!" Hitsugaya apologized hurriedly. "I shouldn't shout at you. It's just that everything seems so bleak lately."

"Is it because of Ikeda-san? Oh, sorry. You are sad because of her death and I nag you over your rank. That was really insensitive of me, wasn't it?"

"Don't worry about it." He tried to smile, but he managed only a strained grimace.

"So what happened to the Hollow?" Momo asked.

"What Hollow?" Now it was his turn to be confused.

"The one who killed Ikeda-san," she clarified. So that was what Hinamori thought. Of course she would assume that. She probably couldn't imagine that shinigami could die of another cause than a Hollow's claws, especially not another shinigami's sword. His first instinct was to correct her, but he stopped himself. He'd really hate to burst her bubble. And besides, the whole mess with Eminoshi was classified.

"It has been purified," he said.

"That's good," Hinamori said.

"Mmmmmm," Toushirou nodded absently, remembering Eminoshi's dead eyes staring into his. Was it really a good thing that he was dead? Sure, he had killed a lot of people and would probably kill more if somebody didn't stop him, but killing him still didn't sit well with Hitsugaya. He knew that he had no other choice, that it was either him or the crazy man, but the fact still stayed that he had killed another shinigami. The realization that he was capable of it didn't sit well with him. If he could have done it once, would he be able to do it again? He wanted to say that the answer was not, that he wasn't a killer, but he wasn't so sure. It was another thing that separated him from his peers in the Gotei 13. Most of them only ever slew Hollows. Maybe he should have considered joining the Onmitsukidou. There he would be in the company of fellow killers. But that would also mean that he would have to kill again and he didn't want that.

"You're zoning off on me again," Hinamori's voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Uh? Did you say something?"

"No, but you fell too silent," she replied.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"You don't have to apologize," she smiled. "Just don't look so lost again." _That's because I feel lost, _he thought. Aloud he said:

"I just need some time to get over it."

"You'll get over it soon," Hinamori smiled.

"You think so?" he asked dubiously.

"Yes," she confirmed. "You are strong, Shiro-chan."

"Huh?" That wasn't something he'd expect Momo to say. Ever.

"I mean it," she said with conviction. "I know I always treat you like a child and you are, but you are strong. You could always deal with everything like it was nothing. I'm the one who worries all the time and is scared of everything. I know how scared I was when I entered the Academy. Everything was so new and big and I felt so small. But then Aizen-taichou came and patted my head and Abarai-kun and Kira-kun helped me so I pulled through. You never had any such problem. You just pulled through and never worried about anything."

Hitsugaya was taken aback by Hinamori's vote of confidence. Even if it meant that she had no idea what his time in the Academy had been really like. But she was right in one thing: he had dealt with hardships before and came through stronger. He could do it again, no matter how hard it seemed.

Just then a black butterfly flew by and landed on Hinamori's finger. She listened to its message for a minute.

"Looks like I have to go," she said apologetically. "We have an emergency. But you can come talk to me again anytime. Or you can talk to Granny. But now I really have to go. Bye!" And she disappeared in a shunpo.

Hitsugaya remained sitting on the grass, munching on the amanattou absentmindedly. Though Hinamori was the same airhead as ever, her words boosted his confidence some. He could get over this, even if he had yet to figure out how. Maybe a visit to Granny's wasn't a bad idea. The old woman always knew how to make him better. It was bound to work this time too.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Not too long after the Officers' Exams he didn't take, he was informed that he should assume the command of an unit that had recently lost its leader. He didn't know how to feel about being in command of a unit again. His experience in the Second had been a nightmare. It was something he could do without. But this time it didn't have to be so bad. Yoshitsuna and Kayaku were still in the Second and there was no-one else who hated Hitsugaya with such passion. Now he just had to hope that none of them were cousins of the lieutenant, though from what little he knew about Ise-fukutaichou, he doubted she would show favoritism to anyone. There was nothing to fear, really. Well, except all the regular things like possible squabbles inside the squad, tough battles and subordinates who had a problem with obeying a child. So maybe there was a reason to fear. But on the other hand, if they made him really busy, it might take his mind off the fact that Ikeda-sensei was dead. Even after several months, her loss still hurt.

So his mood wasn't too bad when he arrived at the training grounds where he was supposed to meet his new unit. It looked like everybody was already there. He counted eight men and women. He walked over to them.

"Hello," he greeted. "Is this the Fifth Combat unit?"

"Of course," a tall man with grey hair, tanned skin and zanpakutou stuck at his right hip answered. "And you are?"

"Hitsugaya Toushirou. I'm supposed to join this unit today."

"We've heard there should be someone new coming," the man nodded. "If that's you, well. I am Jouda Haruto. Twelfth Seat."

"Pleased to meet you," Hitsugaya replied.

An average-height person with dark hair stood up to introduce themselves. Hitsugaya couldn't tell whether the shinigami was a he or a she just by looking. "Kuno Yasu, Seventeenth Seat." Neither the name nor the voice answered Hitsugaya's question. Both could belong to a man or a woman.

"Yamada Tobio, Fifteenth Seat," a middle-aged, middle-height man with dark hair and eyes introduced himself.

"Yamada?" Hitsugaya asked. "Are you perhaps related to Yamada Seinosuke, the Fourth Division lieutenant?"

"No," the man shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid I can't boast any relations to your noble friend. I am just a lowly peasant from Rukongai."

"So am I," Hitsugaya replied. "And Yamada Seinosuke is no friend of mine. I doubt he's anybody's friend."

"Everybody asks Yamada this," another man commented. He was rather tall with sandy-blond hair and hazel eyes.

"And you are?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Minamoto Shinta," he introduced himself. "I'm not a lowly peasant from Rukongai, but I'm not anybody important either," he added in a joking tone.

"Takahashi Takara, Fifteenth Seat," a short woman with shoulder-length black hair introduced herself.

"Wasabi Yoshirou, Sixteenth Seat," a tall, thin and pale man delivered his introductions.

"Touji Narimi," a woman with long indigo hair tied in a braid introduced herself. "Eleventh Seat. I've been the second in command before Tenth Seat Ohayashi's death, so now I should be in command here. It's just a matter of time before it becomes official."

"Uh, I hate to burst your bubble," Hitsugaya said, "but I'm a Tenth Seat. I'm supposed to take command of this unit from now on."

"What?" she blinked. "You?"

"Yes," he confirmed.

"I don't believe it," Touji Narimi said. "You are supposed to be our new commander?"

"Yes," Hitsugaya confirmed. "I have all the paperwork to prove it. Do you want to see it?"

"Never mind," she waved her hand, "I believe you. But Kyouraku-taichou had to be drunk when he assigned you to us. Do you know who we are?"

"You are the Fifth Combat Unit of the Eight Division," Toushirou answered. "You already said so once today."

"That's correct," Touji nodded proudly. "And do you know what that means?"

"That you're my new subordinates," Hitsugaya replied evenly.

"That's not what I meant," Narimi said.

"What then?" the boy questioned.

"That means we are elite," the woman explained. "Every one of us is a seated officer and we could be commanding our own units, but we are here together, as one of the best units in the Eighth Division, capable of taking on any Hollow below Menos level. Our commander has to be a strong and experienced shinigami, not a wet-behind-the-ears kid."

"I assure you I am quite capable," Hitsugaya stated. He understood why the Eleventh Seat was so angry. She was the highest ranking of the group and she had expected to become the new commander upon the death of the old one. When she had found out the position had been given to 'some new kid,' it had been a huge letdown.

"All the newbies say that," Touji scoffed. "They are the first to die."

"I've been through some tough missions, lived in tough places, and survived," Hitsugaya informed her.

"Tough missions, you say? Maybe they were tough only for you," Narimi doubted his prowess.

"Don't be so harsh on him," one of her colleagues interjected. Despite the introductions, Hitsugaya still couldn't remember all of them.

"Don't interfere, Minamoto," Touji scolded him. "I'm saying what has to be said."

"You're being too harsh," Minamoto argued. "I've heard about this kid. He's good." Hitsugaya wanted to tell him off for calling him a kid, but the man was praising him, so he held his tongue.

"I'll believe that when I see it," the woman scoffed.

"So you want a demonstration of my abilities, Touji-san?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Yes," she confirmed. "If you can beat me, I'll admit you're not just a whelp."

"I accept the challenge," Hitsugaya said. Not only it would help to establish him as the strongest, it would allow him to observe one of his subordinates in action. "What kind of combat do you prefer?"

"Anything goes."

"Alright," Toushirou agreed. "We're alone here now, so we can begin right away."

"That's good with me," Touji answered, picking up her zanpakutou. Hitsugaya did the same. They walked to the middle of the training field. They stopped facing each other. Toushirou drew his sword.

"Shall we begin?"

Instead of an answer, Narimi charged. Hitsugaya parried her attack easily and counterattacked. Her eyes widened as she barely blocked.

It became soon apparent that Hitsugaya was the better fighter, with a huge gap between the two of them. For a while, he kept only defending to see what his opponent was capable of, but then he went on the offensive. Touji had trouble blocking all his strikes, despite Hitsugaya still holding back. She scowled. She really didn't like this. There was no way she was losing to the young upstart. So what if he was strong and powerful, she had enough experience and trickery to prevail.

She shunpoed behind him and tried to stab him in the back. She was dismayed when he blocked. So he could track her movements? Well, it just meant she'd have to take it really serious. She used shunpo again to put some distance between them. Hitsugaya didn't follow her. He observed her silently, curious what she would do now.

"Terikagayake, Nijihebi!" she called. Spiritual energy burst from her. Her zanpakutou changed. The blade dissolved, changing into a stream of light shining in all colors of rainbow. As she moved it, the light seemed to be forming a glowing whip or maybe the body of a snake. It seemed to have something like a head. Toushirou thought that it looked very pretty.

Narimi didn't give him the time to admire it long. She closed the distance between them with a shunpo and swung her weapon. The glowing snake sprung into attack with lightning speed. Hitsugaya blocked. Then he gaped in surprise as the glowing snake went right through his zanpakutou. He had to use all the speed gained during his time with the Second to dodge. And still he didn't quite make it. The snake sunk his teeth into his right shoulder. His arm went numb. He felt Hyourinmaru falling from his grip. He quickly grabbed it with his left hand. He cursed inwardly. He had gotten overconfident that he had allowed her to hit him. But to his defense, this was the first time he had seen a zanpakutou that could pass through matter.

Touji didn't give him time to ponder over it longer. She attacked him again. Now Hitsugaya knew better than trying to block, so he dodged. He frantically thought of a way to win his fight. He was naturally right handed and though he had learned to fight with his left hand, it decreased his efficiency drastically. So what he had going for him now? Speed. Narimi's shunpo seemed as slow as a snail to him. But the problem was that if he got too close to her, he'd be attacked by the glowing snake zanpakutou again. And he wouldn't be able to protect himself. Maybe he could try kidou? No, Hadou were too easy to evade and he'd have to drop his sword to cast one. So no kidou. What else?

Touji charged at him again. Her rainbow snake extended far, nearly reaching Toushirou before he could react. He slipped into shunpo at the last possible moment.

"Not so confident now?" Narimi taunted. Hitsugaya scowled. He had to end this fight quickly. He could feel the numbness from his right arm spreading. He flash-stepped behind the woman, sword raised high. She quickly turned and retracted her weapon to attack him. He shunpoed again, appearing behind her back once again. She swung her glowing whip at him again. Hitsugaya shunpoed again. This time Touji guessed where he was going to appear and he avoided the tip of her weapon only by a hair's breadth. He saved the situation only thanks to another quick shunpo. Ten shunpo later, Touji made a wrong guess where Toushirou was going to appear next. He now stood at her side and her whip was extended in the opposite direction. Her eyes widened. She tried to lift her weapon in defense. Hitsugaya slashed. Hyourinmaru's blade passed through the glowing rainbow, slamming the flat side into her chest.

"I win," he announced. Narimi's face twisted with bitterness.

"You were already hit by Nijihebi's poison," she pointed out. "You won't be enjoying this victory for long."

"I think I have plenty of time to get to the Fourth for treatment," Hitsugaya replied evenly.

"You won't have to," she said. "I'll remove the poison."

"Thanks." He waited as Touji touched the hilt of her zanpakutou to the wound. The feeling returned to his arm. "Much better now."

"I can't believe I lost," Narimi murmured.

"That's because your zanpakutou uses the moment of surprise. It's intended to finish off the enemy in one hit when it goes right through his defenses. If he dodges the first attack, you have a problem because it's nigh useless for defense."

"Don't lecture me about my own zanpakutou," Touji took offense.

"Was I wrong?" Hitsugaya asked.

"That's beside the point," she huffed. "You still have no right to lecture me about it. I know Nijihebi the best."

"I don't doubt it," Toushirou replied.

"Then don't do it, kid," she advised.

"You said that if I beat you, you'd accept me as your commander," he reminded her.

"You were lucky," she scoffed.

"He won fair and square," Minamoto interjected.

"He got lucky," Narimi insisted.

"It didn't look like that from here," Minamoto stated.

"Then have your eyes checked," Touji suggested.

"Charming as ever," Jouda muttered.

"What was that?" Narimi turned to him angrily.

"Enough!" Hitsugaya shouted. Everybody turned to him. "This is a squad training, not a gossip hall. You are supposed to cooperate, not bicker amongst yourselves. And you will be a well-disciplined unit as long as I'm in command. Got it?" Some of the glares they sent him weren't too friendly, but eventually all of them nodded. "Good," he said. "And now, let's begin the training."

He watched as the eight shinigami lined up. He tried to recall their names. Forgetting them so soon after they introduced themselves would make him look bad. So that was Minamoto, Touji, Wasabi, uh... he couldn't remember, next was Kuno? Probably. Then Takahashi, Jouda, Yamada. So who was the guy he couldn't recall by name? He couldn't recall. He could recall only seven people introducing themselves to him. That was right. One name he hadn't heard yet.

"You haven't introduced yourself yet, have you?" he asked the unremarkable man.

"Oh, yes," Touji exclaimed, "we forgot about Tanaka again!"

"Tanaka Tarou, Seventeenth Seat," the man in question introduced himself. "I don't mind. People keep forgetting about me."

After that, the training could finally begin. Hitsugaya wondered what his command of the unit would be like. They seemed like an interesting bunch. Putting it mildly.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The day had seemed completely ordinary at first. The Fifth Combat Unit had returned from a patrol in Rukongai and now he was delivering the report about a Hollow purified to the captain's office. He expected to find just Ise-fukutaichou there, hand her his report and be on his way. Therefore he was surprised when he found not only Captain Kyouraku there, but also another captain he wasn't familiar with. He paused in the door, unsure whether he should hand in his report now or wait until the captain wasn't otherwise occupied.

His dilemma was resolved for him when the captains turned to him.

"Good day," he said, suddenly intimidated by the company. Kyouraku just gave him a look of acknowledgement. The other captain, one with long white hair that obscured the symbol of his division, so Hitsugaya couldn't immediately tell who he was, smiled brightly.

"Hello," he said. "I believe we haven't met before." Toushirou was taken aback that the captain wanted to talk to him.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou, Tenth Seat," he introduced himself. "I'm just here to drop off a report." He moved to drop off the paper and get lost, but he soon realized that it wasn't going to be that easy.

"Pleased to meet you," the white-haired captain smiled warmly. He seemed to do that a lot. "I am Ukitake Juushirou, Thirteenth Division." Hitsugaya's eyes widened for a moment. He was in the presence of a living legend. Captain Ukitake was older than the Gotei 13 itself. Captain Kyouraku was too, but it was hard to regard a notorious drunk and womanizer with any kind of reverence. Especially if you saw his lieutenant beat him on the head on a daily basis.

"You don't have to look so awestruck," Ukitake said.

"Ugh..." Hitsugaya wanted to respond, but his voice suddenly failed him. He was never much good with conversations. And this was a situation he had no idea how to deal with.

"I think you're scaring him," Kyouraku observed with a chuckle.

"Really? There's nothing to be scared of," Ukitake said. When Hitsugaya's deer-in-the-headlights expression didn't change, he added: "Perhaps I should have brought some candy for the little dear." That was enough to shake Hitsugaya from his stunned stupor. He hated when people treated him like a child and he didn't care if said people happened to be captains.

"I'm not a child," he snapped.

"Isn't he cute?" Ukitake smiled. "I definitely have to bring some candy next time." That wasn't the reaction Hitsugaya had been hoping for. He wanted to tell the white-haired man what he thought about it, but he stopped himself. No matter how annoying, they were still captains. And he didn't want to get in trouble for insubordination. And he felt it was very likely to happen if those two will continue to treat him like a kid any longer. He had only a limited amount of patience and if somebody treated him this way, it tended to run out quickly. He had to get out of here as soon as he could without insulting anybody. He marched towards the table and laid the report on it.

"Here's the report, sir" he said.

"You don't have to be so stiff and formal," Kyouraku chuckled.

"I think it's rather endearing," Ukitake said. "So young and so serious. He definitely needs some candy to lighten up."

Hitsugaya gritted his teeth and hoped the sound wasn't too loud. Why did the ancient captains have to be so weird? He had once heard that the older and more powerful the shinigami was, the stranger they got. Up to today, he hadn't been sure what it meant. Now he was beginning to understand. Both Kyouraku and Ukitake were old and powerful and they were certainly weird enough. He wondered whether that meant that Yamamoto-soutaichou was the craziest shinigami ever. And whether he'd once end up just like them. He shook in terror. This line of thought was too disturbing to pursue.

"I'll take my leave now," he said, turning on his heel and heading to the door as fast as was still considered polite.

"You can come visit anytime," Ukitake called after him. Hitsugaya didn't answer, slammed the door behind him and ran. He hoped he would never run into the Thirteenth Division Captain ever again.

******************************************************************************************.

The Pink Grasshopper was a dangerous Hollow. The shinigami who heard its ridiculous codename and saw the color of its body tended to forget it, but it reminded them quickly with its lightning fast attacks and razor-sharp appendages. The testament to its strength were the twelve shinigami it had managed to kill since it was first registered in the archives of the Soul Society thirty seven years ago. And those were only the confirmed kills. Another five were suspected. That was why the presence of the Pink Grasshopper in outer Rukongai was confirmed by the bloodied last surviving member of the patrol unlucky enough to run into it, it was quickly decided that an elite unit would face it. That elite unit happened to be the Fifth Combat Unit of the Eighth Division, under the command of Tenth Seat Hitsugaya Toushirou.

The mission began easily enough. They arrived at the place where the Hollow had been spotted without any complication and followed the trail of blood until they found their target. Once they saw it, it was easy to understand where did it get its nickname. It looked like an overgrown pink grasshopper with a white bone mask. It was about as big as a horse and it looked utterly ridiculous.

"This thing killed twelve shinigami?" Touji expressed her disbelief.

"Don't underestimate it," Hitsugaya chastised her. "It did kill twelve shinigami somehow. Now we're going to use a three-pronged attack. Groups and leaders like in training. Now go."

They quickly split into three teams, one lead by Hitsugaya, second by Touji and the third by Jouda. They assumed their positions around the Hollow, which so far seemed unaware of their presence. The plan was simple. Touji's and Jouda's groups would catch its attention with a frontal attack while Hitsugaya will take it out from behind in one hit.

The attack began. Touji and Jouda sprang from their hiding places. The Pink Grasshopper turned to them. Hitsugaya shunpoed behind the Hollow, Hyourinmaru raised for a strike. What happened next... well, Hitsugaya wasn't sure what happened. He knew just that one moment he was standing above the Hollow, prepared to purify it, and the next moment he was lying on the ground, his head reeling, his ears ringing and the world around him swaying dangerously.

Something wet landed on his face. What was it? He couldn't see. Something appeared in his field of vision. He lifted Hyourinmaru to meet it. He made it in the nick of time. One of Pink Grasshopper's legs slammed into it and pushed his blade back. The edges of the leg cut into his skin, but they didn't cause any significant damage. But it revealed to Hitsugaya how precarious his situation was. He had blocked one leg, but the Hollow had more of them. Six in total, to be exact. And in his current position Hitsugaya was a sitting duck. Whatever attack the Pink Grasshopper had used earlier, its effects lasted. He still could barely note what was going around him. He had to do something quickly.

"Souten ni ..." Hitsugaya tried to call his release, but the Hollow didn't allow him. His leg moved like lightning. It disappeared from Hitsugaya's sword and cut into his side. It was a serious wound. Hitsugaya cried out in pain.

There was a flash of movement. Toushirou couldn't see it clearly, but it looked like one of his subordinates, probably Jouda, got to his feet and attacked.

"..zase, Hyourin..." Hitsugaya continued his release phrase. Why, oh why did it have to be so long? The Pink Grasshopper swung his leg and sliced the attacking shinigami in half. Then it turned its attention back to Hitsugaya.

"...maru!" The release was finally complete. Cold blue reiatsu swirled around him and the sky darkened with heavy clouds. Hitsugaya immediately felt better. His injuries didn't hurt so much anymore and the world finally stopped swaying. He climbed to his feet. He could finally survey the situation. It wasn't good. Most of his team had been knocked out by Pink Grasshoppers' initial attack. Jouda was lying on the ground unmoving, his torso sliced open from neck to groin. He was obviously dead. Touji was bloody and on the ground too, but she was trying to get up. He could see Minamoto sitting on the ground with his head in his palms. He wasn't going to be of any use in the battle. It looked like Hitsugaya was on his own. And he had to act quickly, because he was losing blood fast.

The Pink Grasshopper turned around. Hitsugaya swung Hyourinmaru, sending an ice dragon flying at it. The Grasshopper did... something. As a result, the ice dragon shattered and both Touji and Minamoto collapsed to the ground. Hitsugaya alone remained unaffected. The ice dragon had shielded him from the attack.

_What was it? _the boy mused. _There was some high-pitched sound. It was barely perceptible. Some kind of sonic attack? It wasn't mentioned in the materials. Did it eat another Hollow recently and gained new abilities?_

The Hollow moved. Hitsugaya almost didn't notice it. The Grasshopper jumped high, trying to get Hitsugaya from above. The boy quickly slipped into shunpo, evading the attack. The movement aggravated his wound.

"_**I can't keep your wounds closed for much longer, little one," **_Hyourinmaru informed him. Hitsugaya nodded. He knew that he had precious little time to finish this battle. He had to finish it with one decisive attack. He just had to make sure that the Pink Grasshopper wouldn't dodge. That thing was very fast. He would have to be faster.

Hitsugaya gathered his reiatsu, as much as he could. The ground around them was instantly covered in ice and it began snowing heavily. The Pink Grasshopper turned towards Hitsugaya and let out another of its devastating shrieks. To Hitsugaya, it was only an irritating sound now. The thick reiatsu he was emitting protected him from the harmful effects. The Hollow looked a bit startled by it, though it was hard to tell with its mask. Hitsugaya swung Hyourinmaru. The ice dragon formed and coiled around its master, bigger and more powerful than the usual attacks. The Pink Grasshopper sprung forward. Hitsugaya let his dragon fly.

The ice attack hit the Hollow midflight. The Pink Grasshopper couldn't withstand the power behind it. It was frozen and shattered instantly. The ice dragon continued on its path, only mildly scratched. It crashed into a nearby building and flew right through it. It didn't stop until it crashed into the ground nearly a mile away.

Hitsugaya didn't see it. He collapsed to his knees shortly after he had let the attack fly. His wound reopened and blood flowed freely. He grasped at it, trying to stop the bleeding. He felt weak. But he couldn't afford to faint now. He had to take care of his team. He had to call for the Fourth. Their support unit should be close, but they were usually slow. He quickly summoned a Hell Butterfly and gave it his message. Then he gathered whatever strength he had left and scrambled to his feet, to check on his squad.

There was nothing to be done for Jouda. That man was dead. Touji was breathing. She seemed merely knocked out. Hitsugaya just hoped she didn't have some internal injury. Minamoto seemed to have merely passed out too. Hitsugaya let him be and looked for his other subordinates. He found Yamada just behind a corner. The man had no injury, but he couldn't withstand the spiritual pressure. But he was breathing, so he should be alright. Kuno was close, conscious, but shaking heavily and probably not completely aware of his surroundings. Wasabi was lying in some bushes. He too was out of it.

And then Hitsugaya found the man. Or what was left of him. Hitsugaya's breath caught in his throat. He collapsed to his knees and retched violently. He had seen many mangled bodies during his career, but this one was the worst. Because this wasn't the doing of the Hollow. The man's body was frozen and partially shattered. He had been hit by one of his ice dragons. Probably the very last one, considering that he was lying in the path of devastation. Hitsugaya's body trembled in shock. He had just killed some poor soul from Rukongai. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was firing his attacks and he had hit one of those he was supposed to protect. He had been so disoriented by the Pink Grasshopper's initial attack that he had been unable to keep track of the people he couldn't see. Or maybe he just hadn't been trying hard enough, a part of his mind suggested. Toushirou couldn't argue with it. During the course of the battle, he had been thinking only about the destruction of the enemy. He hadn't spared a single thought to the safety of his subordinates and innocent bystanders. He was a miserable excuse of a commander. Not only he had stifled his underlings and everybody who happened to be nearby with his reiatsu, he had actually killed one of them with a careless attack. It was unforgivable. He was unforgivable. He watched in stunned stupor as the unknown man's body was slowly shattering into smaller pieces and dissipating into reishi. Then he looked at the path of devastation left after his last attacks. It went through several other houses. How many people had been there? How many didn't flee from the Hollow? How many more had he killed? He began crying and he didn't care who saw him.

He barely noticed when the Fourth Division squad arrived and began taking care of the wounded. He just sat there and stared blankly at the man's remains, having run out of tears a while ago. When a medic came and attempted to treat him, he just pushed her away. He didn't deserve treatment. He deserved to die a gruesome death, like that unknown man did. The medic said something. He wasn't listening. She was probably telling him to allow her to treat him. But he didn't want to. He wanted to tell her to leave him alone, but he felt too tired. It was no wonder. He had been sitting there for hours. It was evening already. Everything was going dark.

.*****************************************************************************************.

It was quiet. It was also warm and soft. He was lying somewhere comfortable. There was some lingering pain in his side, but nothing too bad. He slowly opened his eyes. Everything was out of focus for a while before his eyes adjusted. He recognized the room he was in. It was in the Fourth Division. So what did he do to land himself in the hospital this time? They were hunting a Hollow. The Pink Grasshopper. It had laid out most of his team effortlessly. He had been wounded, but he had managed to hit it with his best attack. But he had hit somebody too. He had hit a man. He had killed a man. He had killed some random soul that was dependant on his protection. He was overcome by a sudden sense of self-loathing. He had killed somebody and he was in the hospital. He should be in the prison instead.

He felt tears welling in his eyes again. How could this have happened? He had begun his training as a shinigami so his uncontrolled power wouldn't hurt anybody. And after seven years of training, he went and killed an innocent because he couldn't control where he was aiming his attacks. He was despicable. He could try to make excuses that he had no idea that somebody had been there, but they would be really just excuses. He had known there were inhabited houses all around. He had no business firing his attacks at random. There must have been a better way to deal with it, if he only took the time to figure it out. And he shouldn't make excuses that there wasn't enough time.

What good was he for? He was supposed to protect his subordinates. Not to hurt them with his uncontrolled power and misaimed attacks. He was a sorry excuse for a team leader when he was able to do something like that. He didn't deserve his position. He didn't deserve to be called a shinigami. He didn't deserve to wield his zanpakutou when he wasn't able to use it properly.

"_**Little one!" **_Hyourinmaru's voice sounded both concerned and urgent. Hitsugaya ignored it. He wasn't worthy of talking to the great dragon. _**"Child!" **_Hyourinmaru called again, this time more urgent. Toushirou just stared blankly. He didn't want to talk to anyone. Least of all his zanpakutou. It was all his fault. If he had no power, he couldn't have hurt anybody. If he had no power, he wouldn't even be there.

"_**If you had no power, who would have saved the others?" **_Hyourinmaru asked.

"_Whoever their new commander was," _Hitsugaya shrugged. _"He would have done a better job."_

"_**Are you sure?"**_ the dragon questioned. _**"Their new commander would be just a regular Tenth Seat. They'd get all eaten by the Grasshopper."**_

"_You can't know that," _Toushirou argued.

"_**I know that if you had trouble, most lieutenants would as well. There aren't that many shinigami who are stronger than you, remember?"**_

"_But they are more experienced," _the boy objected._ "They wouldn't have done something so stupid."_

"_**The only thing you can do about your inexperience is to gather some experience," **_Hyourinmaru stated.

"_But what would be the cost?"_

"_**That I don't know, little one."**_

Silence reigned for a while. Hitsugaya stared into the ceiling blankly, but he didn't see it. The sight of the man's mangled corpse was occupying his mind. He barely registered when the door to his room opened. He just laid there prone as a nurse checked his vitals, asked him something he didn't deign worth a reply and then left to inform her superiors that he was awake.

Some time later Ise-fukutaichou showed up to hear his report. He didn't feel like telling her, but an order was an order so he told her everything that had happened. She took notes, barely showing what she thought about it. When he finished his report on the battle, He got to the part about the dead man. He choked and began crying when he spoke about it. The thought that he was behaving childishly didn't even cross his mind.

"The whole area had been evacuated," the lieutenant said. "The team that had first encountered the Pink Grasshopper got everyone out before you arrived."

"But that guy was there," Hitsugaya said between sobs. "And I killed him."

"Nobody else reported a dead civilian," Nanao said. "Are you sure that you killed him?"

"Yes."

"Some of your subordinates reported being severely disoriented after the Pink Grasshopper's attack," the lieutenant informed him. "That dead man could have been a hallucination."

"I know what I saw."

"If you really killed an innocent bystander, you would be in trouble," she reminded him. "But this way there's no proof there have ever been one."

"Why are you saying this?" Hitsugaya asked in confusion.

"I don't want to see my subordinates in trouble for something that wasn't their fault," she answered.

"I didn't ask you to protect me," Toushirou snapped. "I don't need it."

"Do you want to get punished?" she asked with exasperation.

"I deserve it. I killed him."

"You obviously aren't coherent," she stated.

"I'm not crazy!" Hitsugaya protested.

"You're doing nothing to convince me. I'll leave now and take your report again once you can think clearly." She didn't wait for his response, snapped her book closed and marched out of the room. Hitsugaya stared after her retreating back completely stumped. Why did she do that?

"_**I'm sure she has a reason," **_Hyourinmaru said, _**"but that isn't important. She offered you a way out of trouble."**_

"_I don't deserve it."_

"_**Do we have to go through it again?" **_Hyourinmaru rolled his eyes. _**"That wasn't your fault. So stop the pity party. Think about the people you have saved."**_

"_That's easier said than done."_

"_**At least try,"**_Hyourinmaru prodded. _**"You have defeated a Hollow that had killed over a dozen shinigami and who knows how many innocent souls."**_

"_But I still killed that guy."_

"_**It was an accident. He should have run the moment the Hollow appeared. And how do you know you killed him? Sure, he was in ice, but couldn't the reason he hadn't ran be that he had been already dead? The body dissipated fast."**_ That made Hitsugaya pause. He concentrated on the sight of the mangled body. Now that he thought about it, a part of his torso had been gone. He had initially thought it had been thanks to his attack, but what if it had been missing previously? He honestly couldn't tell.

"_I still feel responsible,"_ he said.

"_**At least you aren't blaming yourself so badly," **_the zanpakutou spirit said. _**"Get over it. I don't ask you to forget it, but learn from this experience and grow stronger. So next time you won't make the same mistake."**_

"_I'm not sure I can,__"_ Hitsugaya sighed.

"_**You can. I trust that you do."**_

.*****************************************************************************************.

Not long after Hitsugaya was released from the hospital, an inquiry into the incident with Pink Grasshopper took place. It was confirmed that several souls from that part of Rukongai went missing, presumed dead, but it was impossible to determine what had happened to them. The official verdict said that they were victims of the Pink Grasshopper and Hitsugaya got off scot free. It felt to him that nobody was really trying to investigate and nobody wanted to get any shinigami in trouble. It felt like nobody actually cared about the souls from Rukongai, or at least not as much as about the shinigami. If it wasn't for Hitsugaya's testimony, there would have been no investigation at all. It left a bitter taste in Toushirou's mouth. Had everybody witnessed so many pointless deaths that they became jaded and didn't care unless they knew the deceased? Would it happen to him too once he served in the Gotei 13 long enough? What if a Hollow attacked Junrin'an and killed Granny? Would he and Hinamori be the only ones to care? Probably.

After the inquiry was over, he was approached by Captain Ukitake, who came for some mysterious reason. The white-haired captain smiled at him cheerfully, told him to cheer up and showered him by candy in cheerfully colorful packages before he left. After the proceedings earlier, Hitsugaya didn't feel like cheering up and could barely even look at the candy. They were too cheerful for the somber occasion. The inquiry had left a foul taste in his mouth he was sure no amount of sugar would wash out. He felt tempted just to throw away the candy on the spot, but Captain Ukitake might take offense. So he dragged them home and buried them at the bottom of his closet, determined to never take them out again. Later, they were joined by many more candy.

After that, the life returned to what it used to be. The deceased Jouda was replaced by some guy called Ueshiba Susumu, 13th Seat, and the Fifth Combat unit resumed their duties just like they used to. Though Jouda was mourned, they barely talked about the incident with the Pink Grasshopper and nobody ever mentioned the dead civilian. It was like he never existed. Only Hitsugaya remembered him, but sometimes he couldn't help but think that maybe he had been just a figment of his imagination. It was frustrating.

He continued working on his Bankai training. He was beginning to realize how important was gaining better control over his powers. Whether he had actually killed somebody by mistake or not, he knew he'd do everything to prevent it from happening again. But a sliver of doubt found its way into his heart. Wouldn't greater power also mean a greater risk of collateral damage?

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya sighed in frustration. His materialization training had hit a plateau. For over two months now he wasn't able to improve a bit no matter what he did. He knew the training was supposed to take at least ten years and he had started only a little less than two years ago, but the sudden lack of progress irked him. He had been doing so well until something he couldn't figure out blocked him. And Hyourinmaru was unhelpful in helping him figure out what the problem was, saying that Toushirou had to deal with it on his own if he wanted to achieve Bankai. His argument was that if the boy wanted to become his master, he couldn't rely on his guidance. Hitsugaya couldn't find a fault in his logic. But that left him stuck on square one: what was the problem? The only hint he had was Hyourinmaru's cryptic remark that the problem lied within him, but that wasn't telling him much. It was with those thoughts in mind he went to sleep that night.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He was flying through the clouds again. The snowflakes from the raging blizzard parted before him. The ground was rushing past him as he ran across it. He hadn't even realized when he made the transition from flight to running. His feet were sinking deep into the snow. He was tired, shivering, barely able to make the next step. But he had to. He had to get away from..._

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya woke up with a start. It was still night. Moonlight was shining through the open window, glittering on the frost covering the floor, and the grounds outside were quiet, nothing disturbing the peace of Seireitei. He willed his racing heart to slow down. What did scare him about the dream so much anyway? It wasn't like this was the first time he had dreamed about it. He blinked. He had dreamed about flying often since he started training for materialization, but the running through the snow was new.

Wait, not really. Lately, there were moments of running intertwined with his usual dreams of flight. He had barely acknowledged it until now. But what made this dream so scary? He had nightmares before, but they were usually about something he could identify. This sense of dread for no apparent reason, that was new. No, wait, he scrunched his brow in concentration, that wasn't entirely true. He used to have this kind of nightmares before, but that was such a long time ago he all but forgot about it. Everything that had occurred before his joining the Academy seemed like it was from a different life. And maybe it was true.

He was a very different person from the child who used to live with Granny and spit watermelon seeds at Bed-wetter Momo. He wondered when had the change happened to him and how did he miss it happening. Maybe it had happened when he had first held Hyourinmaru in his hands. His zanpakutou became the new driving force in his life, its sheer power dictating his course. Now he thought about it, most of the things he did since then were to gain better control on the power that constantly grew and threatened to spill out, not caring it would freeze everybody who got into its way. _Like Granny. Like that nameless man. _The thought made him shudder and his heart clench. It brought home the point of how much he needed to gain more control. But he was stuck. Why? He couldn't understand. Hyourinmaru probably knew, but refused to tell him. It was frustrating. He wanted to just grab the zanpakutou spirit by its neck and shake him until he told him. But that was a silly thought. There was no way he could make the ice dragon do something he didn't want to. At least not yet. And he wouldn't be until he got over his problem. It was a real Catch 22 situation.

With those thoughts, he fell asleep again.

.*****************************************************************************************.

A few days later, their unit was assigned another mission. Reports of Hollow activity came from 76th district of South Rukongai. There was almost no intel on the Hollow itself, just his victims. Hitsugaya felt a bout of unease when he received the orders. It was in the same district where they have fought the Pink Grasshopper. What if he met some friends of the man he had killed there? How could he face them? Even when he wouldn't recognize them and they wouldn't recognize him? He still felt like scum.

"_**Don't think like that," **_Hyourinmaru scolded him. _**"Your mission is to help them. Think of all the people you'll save when you purify the Hollow."**_

"_I know," _Hitsugaya replied, _"but I just can't help it. What if I mess up again?"_

"_**If you think like this**__** then you will mess up," **_the dragon stated. _**"Remember what I always tell you: your heart mustn't falter."**_

"_That's easier said than done," _Toushirou sighed.

"_**You sound like you're already giving up," **_the zanpakutou spirit observed. _**"That just wouldn't do."**_

"_I'm not giving up!" _Hitsugaya snapped.

"_**Could have fooled me. And don't snap at me, spare your anger for the Hollow."**_

"_I know," _the boy said, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

"_**Also, I'd say we're almost there."**_

Hitsugaya snapped from his thoughts. Hyourinmaru was right. The village that had reported the Hollow activity was in sight.

As they neared it, Hitsugaya slowed down and tried to feel the Hollow. There were faint traces of reiatsu in the air, but he couldn't pinpoint their origin. It was just like the reports said: the Hollow attacked and then disappeared, not to be seen until it attacked again. It looked like finding it was going to be the trickiest part of the mission.

When they arrived to the village, they asked around whether there were any news about the Hollow. There weren't. It hadn't attacked again and nobody had seen it either. They asked about the places the attacks had occurred. They were all close to the village, but none of them had happened inside. The villagers were too scared to lead them to the places, but they at least described the way.

Hitsugaya investigated the spot the last attack had occurred. It was on a dirt roar a bit to the east from the village. There were bloodstains on the ground and pieces of torn cloth, a bit of Hollow reiatsu in the air, but otherwise nothing that would have told them something about the mysterious attacker. That in itself was strange. Most Hollows left some traces. There should be foot- (or rather paw-) prints and some tracks leading somewhere. But there was nothing. So how did the Hollow move that it left no traces? Did it fly?

And how comes it was never spotted when it attacked? The landscape around the village was mostly flat and covered in meadows. There wasn't a hiding place anywhere. So either the Hollow was small enough to hide in the grass or it was invisible. Or it might burrow underground. But in that case the ground should be disturbed, and Hitsugaya couldn't find any sign of it, no matter how hard it looked. It was a mystery.

In the end, he divided his team into pairs and told them to patrol the area, looking for any disturbance. Hitsugaya was paired with Yamada, Touji with Wasabi, Takahashi with Tanaka, Ueshiba with Minamoto and Kuno.

They spent the day patrolling, looking for any sign of the Hollow's presence. They found nothing. Only the faint reiatsu of unknown origin was the proof that the Hollow was still around.

It was when they were almost ready to call it a day when the Hollow struck. The one who felt it first was Tanaka. That was because the Hollow struck his back before he could notice its presence. He shrieked in pain and collapsed to the ground, because his limbs suddenly refused to obey him.

"Tanaka!" Takahashi screamed as she turned around, zanpakutou in hand. But there was nothing to attack. Only her comrade was lying on the ground, several small wounds on his back. Takahashi's eyes darted left and right, but she couldn't find a sign of Tanaka's attacker. How could it have disappeared so fast and so completely?

A slight movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention and she jumped back instinctively. Something snake-like shot through the place she had stood on and quickly retracted back into the grass. Takahashi's eyes narrowed. So that's where it is hiding. She stepped closer to it, a determined look in his eyes. The snake-like thingies attacked again, but she jumped over them. She landed right where he thought they were coming from and swung her sword hard. She hit only grass and soil. Huh? Where did it go?

She got her answer when it bit the back of her ankle. The short pain was followed by numbness as whatever poison was in its teeth began spreading through her bloodstream. She cursed inwardly. Now she wasn't able to move around, the Hollow would just slowly bite her to death. There was just one way to escape it. She hated using it, but in this situation she had no other option.

"Soratobe, Seirei no Ginyoku!" he called. _Fly in the sky, Dragonfly's silvery wing._ Her sword glowed an aqua light and the blade sprouted two protrusions resembling dragonfly's wing. She pointed it skywards and called: "Up!" Her zanpakutou's power lifted her from the ground. She continued rising until she was well outside of the Hollow's reach. There she closed her eyes and began shaking. Flying was a useful ability to have, unless you were mortally scared of heights.

With a blur of shunpo, Touji appeared close to Tanaka's body, followed shortly by Wasabi. They were the closest to them, so they were the first to arrive once they heard Tanaka's shriek.

"What's going on?" Touji shouted. Nobody answered her. Tanaka was unconscious and Takahashi was too busy trembling in fear.

"Look out!" Wasabi shouted. Touji dodged. Three snake-like things shot through where she used to stand. Wasabi slashed at them, but he was too slow. They retracted so fast that the two shinigami barely saw where did they come from.

_So it hides underground and conceals the entrances to its tunnels with leaves and pebbles?_ Touji thought. _Clever, but it cannot hide from me._

"Terikagayake, Nijihebi!" she called. Her blade turned into a snake made from colorful light. She swung it down. The ethereal snake shot through the ground unhindered. Its head struck right where Narimi thought the Hollow's main body was. Unfortunately it was very hard to hit something she couldn't see or feel clearly. Nijihebi attacked repeatedly, but it had no visible effect. The Hollow's snake-like protrusions shot from the ground again, nearly hitting Touji's calves. She had to dance between them to avoid being poisoned. Wasabi tried to help her, but he had no power that would seem useful in this situation. He tried to catch the Hollow with a Bakudou, but missed.

"What's the situation?" Hitsugaya asked as he appeared at the scene. His question was answered when the snake-like tentacles attacked him. He quickly jumped out of the way. He swung Hyourinmaru at them, but he managed to only scratch one. Those things were very fast.

"That thing is hiding underground!" Touji shouted as she beat at the ground repeatedly.

"We have to force it out," Hitsugaya said, trying to figure out how to accomplish it.

"Nice idea," Narimi muttered sarcastically. "We couldn't figure it out without you."

Hitsugaya suppressed the urge to snap something back. He felt for the water underground. Could he use it to force the Hollow out? It didn't seem so. This area was mostly arid and there wasn't enough water to use. He might try to hit the ground with an ice dragon, but that might force the Hollow to burrow itself deeper and they would never dig it out.

Yamada arrived, a bit out of breath after trying to keep pace with Hitsugaya.

"Where's the Hollow?" he asked between gasps.

"Underground!" Touji answered.

"Then let's get it out!" Yamada stated. Hitsugaya looked at him oddly. "Hikkurikaese dosha, Doryuunikukyuu!" _Overturn the soil and sand, Mole's paw. _Yamada's zanpakutou changed shape into something that resembled a shovel vaguely. He stuck it into the ground and turned it. A large chunk of earth turned with it. Hitsugaya almost slapped himself in the forehead. How could he have forgotten about Yamada's zanpakutou? Maybe because the man never used it. The ability to overturn large chunks of the ground wasn't very useful in battle. It was slow and any opponent could see it coming from a mile away. Dodging it was easy even for somebody who never heard about shunpo. But it was useful when they needed to dig something up, like now.

As the overturned chunk of earth fell down, the Hollow was partially revealed to them. All they could see were the snake-like tentacles, but it was obvious it was much closer to the surface now. They had to catch it before it could burrow underground again.

The glowing snake shot through the air and bit into one of the tentacles. The appendage went limp within seconds. Hitsugaya slashed down and cut off the two that were the closest to him. Wasabi cut off another one. But there were still many more to go.

Yamada stuck his spade into the ground again. This time he lifted the chunk of soil with the Hollow inside. It let out an angry sound. Finding itself on the top of a heap, it realized it was in an unfavorable position. Anyone could attack it from any direction and the assembled shinigami did so. Another one of its tentacles was disabled by Nijihebi's poison and one more fell victim to Hyourinmaru's blade. It could also see that digging deeper wasn't going to help. Yamada could just dig it up again. It decided to leave the protection of the ground and attack directly.

As it jumped out, its form could first be seen. It didn't have a central body, it seemed to be composed entirely of tangled snake-like tentacles. It wasn't apparent where its mask and hole were. But there was little time to ponder about such things. The Hollow attacked Yamada, recognizing him as the greatest threat to its safety. The man tried to block it with his spade, but he couldn't stop all the tentacles. At least five of them bit him in the chest, stomach and neck. Yamada collapsed down. Touji struck with her zanpakutou again, but she could only paralyze a small part of the whole thing.

"It's going to run!" she screamed. Hitsugaya could see it too. If they allowed the Hollow to dig itself now, there would be no way to get it out again. And because there was no clear weak spot on the Hollow's body, they'd have to use an attack that hit it whole at once.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru!" Hitsugaya shouted. The sky immediately covered with dark clouds and a layer of ice formed on the ground. It seemed that the ice was making trouble for the Hollow, because it made the difficult to describe angry sound again. But the Hollow wasn't the only one who seemed to have trouble. Tanaka's body, lying next to Hitsugaya's feet, was covered in ice too and the man didn't seem to be breathing. Even Yamada, who was lying further away, seemed to have trouble. _I'm hurting them! _Hitsugaya realized with a start.

The Hollow didn't just sit around and attacked Touji. She tried to dodge, but her foot slipped on the ice. She tried to block, but Nijihebi wasn't meant for defense. The Hollow jumped right through it. Its multiple little mouths bit into her body. She was out of the fight too.

Hitsugaya stood there and stared. He could destroy the Hollow with one hit, but he would hurt Touji as well. And if the Hollow got up from her, he'd risk hurting Yamada, who was lying some distance behind her. Even Takahashi, still hovering overhead, could be hit if Hitsugaya attacked. And he just couldn't risk that. The image of the unknown man frozen in ice rose in his mind and paralyzed him. He began shaking.

The Hollow abandoned the downed Touji and attacked Wasabi. The man slashed at it, but he ended up bitten nevertheless. He cried out in pain. _I have to help him, _a part of Hitsugaya's mind screamed, but his body was frozen to the spot. He still couldn't bring himself to risk hitting one of his subordinates. Then the Hollow turned its attention to him and he found himself still unable to move.

There was a blur and something slammed into the Hollow. Then something slammed into him. Hitsugaya landed on the ground painfully, his trance broken. It took him a second to realize what happened. Ueshiba, Minamoto and Kuno finally arrived to the scene.

But they were in no way the cavalry saving the day. The Hollow had already disabled Minamoto's right arm and Ueshiba was bleeding from a shallow gash on his leg. Kuno stood in the background and fired some kidou at the Hollow. The spell passed between its coils harmlessly. And considering what he knew about their shikai, they didn't have the ability to purify this Hollow in one strike. He was the only one who could do it, if he just wasn't such a coward.

He took a deep breath to steady himself. If he fired an ice dragon now, he would hit at least three people, no matter how he aimed it. He'd have to find another way to catch it. He wished for the chain on his zanpakutou hilt to extend and then he threw it. The crescent blade flew between the snaky tentacles and got entangled with them. That was exactly what Hitsugaya wanted. He sent his reiryoku into the chain and ice began forming around it. The Hollow screeched as more and more of its parts became frozen in the ice. Hitsugaya didn't stop until it was fully encased. Then he tugged on the chain. The ice block shattered and the Hollow with it. Soon there was nothing but a cloud of quickly dissipating dark reishi left of it.

Hitsugaya resealed Hyourinmaru and sank to his knees, trembling. He surveyed the results of the battle. It wasn't good. The enemy had been defeated, but most of his unit was down. And there was no guarantee they would get better again. And it was entirely his fault. If he hadn't been too scared to release his zanpakutou and use it, he could have ended the battle before the casualties were so heavy. If somebody died, it would be on his head. He was a sorry excuse of a unit commander. Scratch that, he was a sorry excuse of a shinigami. What good he was if he was too scared of his own power?

Somebody was talking to him. Somebody was asking him what they were supposed to do. Ah, yes, he still had a unit to command. Even if he didn't deserve it. Even if he had shown everybody what a useless coward he was. Despite that, they still looked up to him for leadership for some unfathomable reason. So what was it he was supposed to do again? Ah yes, call for the Fourth Division. And get Takahashi down. And unfreeze Tanaka. He almost forgot about it. He went through the motions of giving orders, trying to appear confident, while inside he was dying with shame.


	12. Gaining height

**Author's note: **Ufff, another chapter finished. I'm not overly content with it, but I came to the conclusion that it isn't going to get any better. So I publish it and hope that it won't make you stop reading this story. The chapters yet to come should be better.

As for illustrations, the one for the last chapter is up, but I'm still working on the one for this one. So if you're interested, please be patient.

Enough rambling, now on with the story.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.  
**

**On the Frozen Plain – Gaining height**

.*****************************************************************************************.

Miraculously, everyone of his unit survived. The Hollow's poison was only paralyzing and the Fourth had the antidote ready, having treated victims of this particular Hollow before. Only Tanaka had to stay in the Relief Station for over a week, because he had suffered severe frostbite. That made Hitsugaya feel even worse. The most serious injuries to his subordinates weren't caused by the enemy, but their own commander. He was a disgrace. He had expected to be removed from command for his abysmal performance, but it didn't happen. Nobody reported his freezing with fear and when he brought it up, they said he was being too hard on himself. Every shinigami sometimes hesitated, it was normal and that next time it would be better. But Hitsugaya knew this had been no mere hesitation. It had been fear. Utter, paralyzing fear. And it was still in him. The next time wasn't going to be better. It was going to be worse. And there was nothing he could do about it.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He was running through the snow. Or was he flying? He had wings. No, he wasn't flying. He was running through the deep white snow, every step a torture, but no matter how much he wanted to lay down, he couldn't stop. He had to move on through the blizzard. There was something terrible there, something threatening to... something threatening. He had to escape it at all costs. So he flew... ran? What did it matter? As long as he was moving. He was fleeing. He was fleeing from something in the snow. If it caught him... there was no way he'd let it catch him. He ran._

.*****************************************************************************************.

Scared of his own power. No matter how hard he had tried to deny it, he had to face it. He was scared of his own power, of the destruction he was capable of wreaking. It was a chilling and sobering thought. He knew he needed more control over his reiryoku, so he wouldn't hurt anyone accidentally, but the fear was preventing him from gaining it. And that scared him even more. Was he turning into a complete coward, somebody who could only shake in the face of danger? The image of Takahashi dangling from the hilt of her zanpakutou, shaking like a leaf, haunted him. Was he going to end up like that woman? Would he possess an awesome power but be mortally scared of actually using it? He hoped not, but he feared he was becoming just that. And that scared him even more. It was frustrating. The fear was paralyzing him. He had to do something about it, but he didn't know what. He was too scared to think about it clearly. He was caught in a downwards spiral of fear and despair and he had no idea how to get out.

He tried to figure out when did it start. When was the first time he felt a stab of fear at the thought of what he could do? It wasn't during the last battle, that had only brought the feelings to the forefront. Was it when he saw the dead man? As traumatizing as the event was, that wasn't it. The sliver of fear had already been there. It hadn't even started when he had lost control and punched Yoshitsuna, though what he did afterwards was motivated mainly by fear of what would happen, if he lost control of himself. It hadn't started when he had first killed another man. Eminoshi or whatever was his name had deserved it for killing Ikeda-sensei. But the realization that he was able to kill had been chilling nevertheless.

No, when he thought about it, the fear didn't start during any battle. It started one night in a small house in Rukongai, when a shinigami with beautiful blond hair and dangerous chest woke him up and told him that his uncontrolled reiatsu was slowly killing his grandmother. It was then when he had first become thoroughly scared of his own power. And everything he did since then was on some level motivated by this fear. He had joined the Academy to learn better control and control was what he had been struggling for ever since. And now the same fear that had been pushing him forward before was stopping his progress, giving him even more reasons to be scared. It made him feel want to punch something.

"_**Are you scared of me?" **_Hyourinmaru asked. Hitsugaya paused. His first impulse had been to say yes, but that wasn't entirely true. He had been scared of the huge dragon when it had first begun haunting his dreams, when he had been unaware of its nature. But once he had learned about it, he hadn't felt fear in his zanpakutou spirit's presence not even once. Hyourinmaru always gave him a sense of control, a safe and steady point in a chaotic world.

"_No, I'm not scared of you," _Hitsugaya said sincerely. _"I'm scared of myself."_

"_**That's just as bad," **_the zanpakutou spirit said.

"_I know."_

"_**Do you really? Do you really comprehend just how bad it is?" **_Hyourinmaru questioned. _**"Do you remember what I told you when you began training materialization?"**_

"_I do," _Hitsugaya sighed. He had a sinking feeling he knew where this was leading.

"_**Then can you tell me what is the crucial condition for success?"**_

"_No hesitation, no doubts,"_Hitsugaya recited. _"I must have unwavering conviction and know my heart."_

"_**You almost got it right,"**_Hyourinmaru replied. _**"So what does it mean in our current situation?"**_

"_I lost my convictions," _Toushirou answered with a sigh. _"I am scared and confused."_

"_**All too true," **_Hyourinmaru nodded. _**"So what does it mean?"**_

"_That I cannot succeed."_

"_**Yes. If you continue the way you are, you'll end up destroying yourself." **_Hitsugaya didn't doubt it. But it was a result he couldn't accept.

"_But I have to do it. Anything else is unacceptable. But what can I do?"_

"_**Find your lost resolve."**_

"_How?"_ the boy asked, hoping that the dragon would have some words of wisdom.

"_**That is a question I cannot answer."**_

Hitsugaya sighed. It would have been nice if the dragon had told him, but it would have also been too easy. And he understood what the zanpakutou spirit was trying to tell him, or he hoped that he understood. The resolve had to be his and no-one else's, otherwise it wouldn't work. He was the one who had lost his way and he had to be the one to find the right trail again, otherwise it wouldn't count. It was going to be hard, but he was determined to go through with it. He wondered whether that counted as resolve, but he could tell that it wasn't enough. But he would find the rest of it, somehow. No matter what it took.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He was running through the snow again. It was slow, too slow. The snow was catching his feet, making every step a struggle. But he pressed on. There was no other choice. He had to get away. He needed to be faster. The terror behind him was still too close. He gathered all his strength. He pulled his feet from the snow that wanted to entrap them. He ran. His feet treaded the surface of the snow lightly. He wasn't sinking into it anymore. He ran faster and faster. His feet barely touched the snow anymore. And faster and faster he went. Then suddenly he wasn't running anymore. He was flying. He was a dragon charging through the clouds, the snowflakes parting before him, the white wasteland so far below him he could barely see it. He flapped his wings, pushing himself to even greater speed. That was good. The past was finally so far back behind him that it couldn't possibly reach him. He flew on, forgetting about everything else._

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya woke up. He was lying on the futon in his room and the light of the full moon was shining through the open window. The frost on the ground reflected it in all directions, making the simple room look like something out of a fairy tale. His heart raced. The dream had been too vivid. He had no idea what he had been escaping from, but he had been absolutely terrified by it. Some of the fear remained even after he awoke. From the position of the moon in the sky, he could tell that it was just after midnight and that he should try to sleep again. But he didn't want to. He feared that he would dream about the mad flight again. Once in a night was enough. He knew that Hyourinmaru would probably scold him for running, but he didn't care. But the thought of the dragon made him want his company. The familiar hum of Hyourinmaru's presence could always make him feel better, no matter what was going on. With the zanpakutou spirit, he felt that he wasn't alone. Any problem seemed only half its size when there were two of them to tackle it.

He rose from the bed and reached for his zanpakutou's hilt. The effect was immediate. His fear was dissipating as he felt the dragon's protective presence. He wanted to never let go. But curling up in his bed with his sword seemed silly and childish. And he didn't feel really sleepy. He could make some use of the time awake. He quickly dressed and headed for the training grounds.

The vast grass field was empty at this time of the night. That suited Hitsugaya just fine. He unsheathed his blade and fell into the familiar movements of the kata. The routine was comforting. He felt like nothing existed in the world except for him and the sword. The dream was slowly fading from his mind. And with no-one else in sight, the fear of accidentally hurting someone was gone too. For a while, all his troubles seemed to have gone.

"_**You know, this is only a temporary solution," **_Hyourinmaru spoke in his mind.

"_What?" _Hitsugaya asked never breaking his dance.

"_**This might help you forget for a while, but it won't make the problem go away," **_the zanpakutou spirit clarified. _**"The dreams will come again."**_

"_What problem?" _the young shinigami questioned. _"The fear or the dreams? Since when are dreams a problem? They are just that, dreams."_

"_**Are they really?" **_the ice dragon questioned.

"_What do you mean?"_the boy asked. He swung the blade in wide horizontal arc before retracting it to parry an invisible blow.

"_**Can't you figure it out? You're usually smarter than that." **_Toushirou huffed. He didn't like it when Hyourinmaru got like this. He wanted to demand an answer, but he knew from experience that all he would get would be vague hints. When the dragon wanted him to think about something for himself, he wouldn't say anything but vague hints.

"_I don't really see it. A dream is just a product of one's mind. A jumble of feelings and fragments of memories thrown together by a resting brain. No deep meaning to it."_

Hyourinmaru sighed. _**"And here I thought you might actually get it quickly this time."**_

"_Sorry to disappoint you, but I still don't see your point. The fear in the dream is just the projection of the fear I feel while awake. I have to deal with that first and the dreams would go away."_He stabbed an imaginary enemy with more force than necessary.

"_**That's a shame. You were so close."**_

"_I was?" _Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow mentally._ "I certainly don't feel close to the answer."_

"_**You were," **_Hyourinmaru confirmed. _**"But then you got sidetracked."**_

"_Can you at least tell me when I was so close?" _Hitsugaya tried. He didn't really expect the dragon to give him a straight answer.

"_**You didn't say that much," **_the zanpakutou spirit replied.

"_I was only talking about the dreams."_ A parry, a step forward and a quick slash. The dance with the blade continued.

"_**Yes."**_

"_And you said that my dreams were somehow a problem. Like I didn't have enough problems." _Another shadow was cut in half by an overhead slash.

"_**Yes."**_

"_And then I said what dreams are." _A quick spin and a thrust.

"_**Yes."**_

"_And that's about it."_ A feint and a quick kick at the knee of an imaginary enemy.

"_**Yes."**_

"_I still don't see it__," _Hitsugaya shook his head sighed.

"_**Think about it more. The answer is there."**_

"_I'm sorry but I can't see it."_ The blade sliced the air in a cross-shaped pattern.

"_**Do I have to get over it word for word? You really should be able to work this one out on your own."**_

"_If you say so," _Hitsugaya replied, sounding not too convinced. _"So you say that the problem is my dreams."_

"_**I didn't say that." **_The dragon sounded tired of the conversation.

"_No?"_ The boy whirled around, blocking the sneak attack of a non-existent opponent before kicking at its stomach.

"_**No, I didn't. Weren't you listening?" **_ Hitsugaya thought back on the beginning of the conversation.

"_You meant that the problem has something to do with my dreams," _he concluded. He crouched low and swiped at a shadow's knees.

"_**Correct."**_

"_So the problem isn't the dreams themselves, but they somehow represent it."_A quick thrust up.

"_**Correct again."**_

"_And dreams are a manifestation of impressions and memories jumbled together."_ A jump and an overhead slash.

"_**Right."**_

"_So the dreams are my memories and impressions of the problem?"_ A feint and then a devastating backhand attack.

"_**You guessed it. I told you, it wasn't hard."**_The dragon sounded pleased.

"_But it isn't so easy. I don't remember anything like the dreams. Are you sure that they aren't just a representation of my fear of my power?"_ The sword cut wind in half.

"_**Well, that's a problem too, but it has a deeper meaning."**_

"_It does? What is it then?"_

"_**I cannot tell you that."**_

"_Then what?"_Two quick slashes followed by a stab and retreat.

"_**Think about it." **_Toushirou mentally rolled his eyes. He could have guessed that the reply would be something like this. Hyourinmaru really didn't believe in making things easy for him.

"_So the problem is something I can't remember?"_ The blade continued carving strange patterns into the air.

"_**That was fast."**_

"_Great," _Hitsugaya sighed._ "How am I supposed to solve a problem when I don't know what the problem is? And can't it wait until I solve my other problem?"_

"_**The same way you solve any problem. And problems tend to be connected to each other."**_

"_I have to find out more about it."_A jumping attack.

"_**Precisely**__**," **_Hyourinmaru nodded.

"_Are you sure it would help?"_

"_**It should."**_

"_But this doesn't sound like something I can look up in the library."_ A stab backwards.

"_**That would be too easy,**__**"**_ the dragon commented.

"_Why couldn't it be easy for a change?" _the boy sighed. _"Would that be asking for too much?"_

"_**You already know the answer, little one."**_

"_Yes," _he sighed.

The kata ended. Hitsugaya stopped his movement and sheathed his sword. Hyourinmaru's voice fell silent in his head, but he didn't mind. He had already heard all he needed. He sat on the grass near a boulder and leaned over it. He mused over the conversation. So there was a problem. Something he couldn't remember was blocking his progress. Was it also the primal source of his fear? But why was it so? And what did he forget? He grabbed the zanpakutou and contacted its spirit again.

"_Hyourinmaru?"_

"_**Yes, little one?"**_

"_Why is it so important? How can a forgotten memory cause so much trouble? Could it be that whatever I've forgotten is the root of my fear?"_

"_**You'll know when you remember."**_

"_That's__ not an answer," _Toushirou pouted.

"_**It's all I have to say. The training we're going through is dangerous. There's no space for doubts and hesitation, you have to be sure of yourself if you want to succeed."**_

"_So the dreams hint at something I need to know about myself? Something important I've forgotten?"_

"_**I've already told you all I wanted," **_Hyourinmaru replied. _**"Don't pry for more answers, it won't help you any." **_Hitsugaya could feel the dragon curling on the ground, letting him know that the conversation was over. He sighed. He had learned something important today, but one answer created many new question. He should think about that, but he felt too sleepy. The fact that it was two in the morning was catching up to him. He would give it more thought tomorrow. Now he'd go to his room to catch up on his sleep. But he didn't feel like moving from his spot.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Doesn't he look cute?" somebody asked. It roused Hitsugaya from his slumber. He opened his eyes slowly. Lush green grass grew in front of his eyes. This wasn't his room. He had fallen asleep on the training field yesterday, or should he say earlier today? It didn't really matter. What mattered was that his subordinates found him. And the fact that all of them have gathered meant that it was probably the time for their regular training. He had to salvage what was left of his dignity somehow. He stood up, brushed off the blades of grass from his shihakushou and straightened to his full (unimpressive) height. He tried to look imposing, but it was hard to command respect when he felt no respect for himself. But he pretended the best he could. He gave orders to begin the training and ran his subordinates through the routines just as any other day. He couldn't tell whether it was just his imagination, or whether they were really snickering behind his back.

.*****************************************************************************************.

**Run-in with the Eleventh**

It happened during one of their patrols. They felt a Hollow nearby and headed there to dispose of it. They purified it easily, but when they were about to continue with their patrol, a unit from the Eleventh arrived. They had been patrolling in the adjacent area and when they had felt the Hollow, they had raced to fight it. When they found out that the Hollow had been already taken care of, they were dismayed and in a typically Eleventh's attitude decided to fight Hitsugaya's unit instead and they didn't take no for an answer. The resulting brawl was won by the Fifth Combat Unit of the Eighth Division. Despite the Eleventh's reputation for their skill with the sword, the unit here consisted mostly of unseated members while their opponents were an elite squad.

During the skirmish Hitsugaya wondered how the Eleventh Divisioners could fight so easily, with a smile and without a trace of fear. It had been so long since he had lived among them he had almost forgotten how they were. Now he wondered whether he could be like them, completely fearless in battle. If they shared their secret with him, would it help him solve his trouble?

But then he realized that he already knew the root of their reckless courage: they knew no fear. No fear of dying and no fear of hurting somebody they didn't want to hurt. They lived and died for battle. Toushirou could never be like them. He knew fear and despite enjoying a good fight from time to time, he didn't live for the battle. Their way would never work for him.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He was running through the snow. His feet were barely obeying him, but he pressed on. He ignored the pain in his battered body. He could barely feel it thanks to the cold. He was grateful for it despite knowing that the numbness was more dangerous than the pain. Behind him was something even worse. Something he had to get away from as fast as possible. But his short legs weren't capable of the desired speed. No matter how much he urged them to move, he felt like he wasn't moving from the spot. If it w__eren't for the snowflakes dancing in the air, he would be able to see the city still if he turned his head. But he had no desire to look back. He had to move forward. If there was still any hope for him, it was there._

.*****************************************************************************************.

He awoke panting. His room was dark. Not a single ray of moonlight shone through the window. The sky was overcast with heavy clouds and Hitsugaya knew that it was his fault. His reiatsu was acting up again and this time on a bigger scale then a simple frost-covered room. He knew that he wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight and rose from his bed. He padded to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face. That washed the last traces of sleep away. Then he poured a cup of water and sat on the floor, staring into the distance.

He had the dream again. But this time it had been more specific than just a mad flight through a snowstorm. Now he knew he had been escaping a town. But what town? That he didn't know. He tried to remember. He thought about all the towns and cities he had seen. The village in Junrin'an. The city of Seireitei. All the towns in the Living World he had visited during his assignments. But he knew that it was in vain. None of those settlements were the one from the dream. The memory was still inaccessible to him. He sighed. He wasn't going to solve the problem tonight. But he had hope. He had remembered the first specific thing tonight. He might remember something more the next time. And in time, he would learn the whole truth. He would uncover the obstacle blocking his progress and hopefully find a way around it. And maybe then the dreams would stop and he would regain control of his reiatsu again. And then he would complete the materialization and fight for Bankai. But that was still far in the future. He had to decide what to do now, when sleep was out of the question. He debated training with his sword, but decided against it. With his reiatsu as unbalanced as it currently was, who knew what would happen. And if he exerted himself too much, he might fall asleep in the training field again and Touji would laugh for a week. Again. No, training was out. Maybe some reading? The book of advanced Bakudou was quite interesting. Especially some of the barriers. Yes, that sounded like a good idea. He should turn his insomnia into an advantage. And hope he'd be able to keep his eyes open during tomorrow's training.

**Talk with Hisagi**

It was Momo's birthday and Hitsugaya had been invited to the party. It was a bit of a surprise because the last time she had forgotten about him and the year before that he had been on a patrol and couldn't come. This year he had no such excuse and had to come. Not that he didn't like seeing Hinamori again, but he could do without all the other people. There was what looked like the whole SWA, their graduating year, half of the Fifth Division and a whole lot of other people Hitsugaya had no idea who they were. So he was trying not to look too bored when she dragged him through the crowd of her numerous friends, introducing him to them and scolding him when he couldn't remember the people she had introduced to him on some other party she had forced him to attend.

"And this is Hisagi Shuuhei," Hinamori introduced a young man with a lot of scars and tattoos on his face. That name sounded familiar. "Hisagi-kun led the field trip when we were saved by Captain Aizen." Oh, so that was where he had heard it before.

"Pleased to meet you," Hitsugaya said, trying to sound at least mildly interested. Hinamori nudged him, obviously expecting him to make a better attempt at conversation. Toushirou didn't know why did she pick now to try and make him socialize, but he was glad she chose a person he knew at least a little bit about.

"I heard about your field trip..." he began, when Hinamori elbowed him in the ribs. Judging by her stare, he had just said something quite insensitive. On second thought, he should have realized that. He wouldn't have liked if somebody had brought up his first field trip and back then only one person he didn't know well died. Hisagi had lost two of his friends in a drastic manner. "Uh... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up," he apologized hurriedly.

"You don't have to apologize, it's been a long time ago," Shuuhei replied. But the haunted shadow in his eyes said that it hadn't been quite long enough and probably never will be.

Hinamori shot Hitsugaya one more dirty glare for bringing it up (despite the fact that she spoke about it first) and tried to change the topic. "It isn't official yet, but I've heard that Hisagi-kun should be soon promoted to the lieutenant of the Ninth Division." There was a nudge in her voice, probably suggesting that Hitsugaya should work harder and get a promotion finally. Toushirou didn't see the point. The time of Officers' Exams was drawing near, but he wasn't planning on entering. Considering his recent trouble, he didn't feel like he deserved the rank he held, much less a higher one.

"Don't get ahead of things, Hinamori-kun," Hisagi said. "It isn't official yet. It isn't certain I will become a lieutenant. In fact, I don't think I should," he added quietly. That caught Hitsugaya's attention.

"Why not?" he asked curiously. He ignored Hinamori's glare telling him that he shouldn't pry into such things.

"I don't think I'd make a good lieutenant," Hisagi answered. "The problem is that I am scared. I'm scared of my own sword." Now he really had Hitsugaya's full attention. "Ever since that field trip, I became scared of death. And when I first released my zanpakutou, it became even worse. I hate its shape. It's like it's meant to reap lives. I hate that. I talked about it with Captain Tousen and he told me that it's alright, that a true warrior should know fear and fear his own sword. I find it hard to understand, but it must be true if Tousen-taichou says it."

In Hitsugaya's opinion that was a really stupid reason as to why something should be true. Sure, some captains were wise, but others were not. And nobody was infallible. Hisagi should really make his own opinion rather than trust blindly in his superior.

But it also didn't mean that it wasn't true. Hitsugaya pondered about the words while Hinamori made small talk with the man before moving on to her next acquaintance. Was it alright for a warrior to fear his sword? Once again, the image of Takahashi shaking flew through his mind, accompanied with his own hesitation in battle. No, fear wasn't alright. It crippled the mind and body. Thanks to his fear, his subordinates got hurt. It was alright to be aware of the destruction one's powers could cause, but fearing it was wrong. Fear only stunted a warrior's growth. Hisagi might be able to become a lieutenant, but that was as far as he would ever get and Hitsugaya harbored some doubts that he would be a good lieutenant. With the fear in his heart, he'd just hesitate in a battle when it would matter the most.

No, he decided, fear was definitely wrong. He needed to purge it from his heart before he'd be able to move on. But how should he do it? He had no idea. He needed to find a new resolve, but he didn't know where to look for it. He was still stuck.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He was running. His lungs were burning, despite the snow in the air. He was tired, his legs protesting with every step, but he pressed on. He couldn't stop. He had to get away. The town was still too close. He forced his legs to tread through the snow and put more distance between them. The further he got the better. He didn't know where he was going. He wasn't sure where another settlement was. In fact, he was sure that this way was only wilderness for many miles ahead. But he didn't care. He couldn't go to a village close to the city. That would be like returning to the town itself. And he couldn't do that. He had to get away. He had to run and so he ran. He ran on and on until his legs refused to carry him anymore. And even then he pushed himself up again and walked when he couldn't run anymore. It was only when he couldn't even crawl that he finally stopped._

.*****************************************************************************************.

It was almost morning when Hitsugaya awoke from his dream. It was a welcome change. He got more sleep that night than he had in weeks. But the dream didn't please him. It revealed a little more details than the last one, but it showed much more fear. He had to get rid of the fear. He had repeated the words for so many times they became a mantra to him. But no matter how much he repeated them, he couldn't make them come true. The fear still lingered.

Hitsugaya decided that if he hadn't solved his problem in months, he wasn't going to solve it now, so he just got dressed and headed for the training ground. He still had to decide what kind of drills he would run his squad through today. They should be practicing fighting in the wilderness, so he headed for the training ground with the most trees and roughest terrain.

He walked around in a daze, half of his mind trying to figure out which rocks and puddles would be the best to use later today, the other half still lingering on the dream. He wasn't really paying attention to where he was going, therefore it was no surprise when he tripped and fell. What came as a bigger surprise was that he had fallen on something warm and soft. Something that grunted and moved. Did he fall on a person? What was a person even doing sleeping in the training grounds? Were they perhaps injured?

Hitsugaya quickly stood up, taking a closer look at the person. His first impression was pink. Lots and lots of pink. His second impression was the smell of sake in the air. How could he have missed it before? These were enough clues to put together the identity of the stranger. Hitsugaya groaned inwardly. Did he just fall on his captain, who was probably hiding here from the wrath of Ise-fukutaichou? And could he still run before Kyouraku woke up?

Nope, it turned out it was too late. Kyouraku blinked several times and then fixed his bloodshot eyes on Hitsugaya.

"Huh? Where did you come from?"

"Uh..." Hitsugaya was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say in this situation?

"Come here and have some sake," Kyouraku said cheerfully, waving a bottle of sake he had produced from somewhere.

"I don't drink," Hitsugaya answered, finally finding his voice.

"No?" Kyouraku looked confused. "Everybody drinks."

"I don't," Toushirou stood his ground.

"But you look like you need it," Kyouraku observed. "Just sit down and have a cup of sake with me."

"I really shouldn't. Bad things happen when I drink," Hitsugaya said, but he sat down obediently. He didn't dare disobey the captain that much.

"You look like bad things already happened," Shunsui remarked. Hitsugaya winced. Was it that obvious? "Sake makes everything better."

"Not in my case." He shuddered remembering his previous experiences with the tricky liquid.

"But you could use something that would make you feel better," Kyouraku insisted. "You look down. What's the problem?"

"Uhm..." Hitsugaya quickly debated whether he should tell. "It's complicated."

"Not feeling like talking about it?" Shunsui raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's alright. Just don't let it bother you too much. Or that scowl would become permanently stuck to your face." Hitsugaya's only response was scowling deeper. "I don't know whatever is bothering you, but it probably isn't as bad as you think. Young people always think whatever trouble befalls them is big. We old people know that it isn't anything to worry about. All trouble will resolve themselves. Eventually. And if they don't, sake will make them disappear. And if they still don't disappear, it means you didn't use enough sake. Are you sure you don't want some?" Kyouraku showed a cup in front of Toushirou's face. The boy scrunched his nose in disgust.

"There you are!" the voice of Ise-fukutaichou cut through the cool morning air. "How can you hide when the paperwork isn't finished? It has to be handed in by noon today? And what's that?" She frowned as she spotted Hitsugaya. "Are you trying to corrupt a child?"

"It's not like that, Nanao-chan," Kyouraku tried to protest, but was silenced by Nanao's book making contact with his cranium. Hitsugaya winced. That had to hurt.

"Stop your excuses," the lieutenant scowled. "You have 121 reports to read and sign before noon, so you'd better get started now." Then she grabbed him by his collar and began dragging him away.

"So cruel, my Nanao-chan," Kyouraku complained. Hitsugaya took it as his cue to leave. He snuck away and shunpoed out of the training grounds before his superiors would remember he was there. On the way, he thought about Kyouraku's 'advice.' Was he really taking everything too seriously? Would some solution miraculously present itself if he just relaxed and waited? Was it experience or sake speaking from the Eighth Division Captain? Well, worrying was probably making it worse by adding more fear, but simply waiting brought no solution to his problem either. So it sounded like he was back where he began. Though worrying less sounded like a good advice, it was the one thing he had no idea how to accomplish. So he was stuck with waiting.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He walked through the streets. He was cold, hungry and his feet hurt.__ Icy winds bit into his skin through his too thin, ragged clothes and the clouds hanging low overhead prevented any sunlight from reaching the ground. He looked around, trying to find something he could scavenge, a bit of food or maybe even a piece of cloth he could use to fend off the ever-present cold. But there was nothing. At least in this street, though he was fairly sure that the other streets were the same. Ever since the war broke out, there were precious few supplies and too many desperate homeless people hunting them. It hadn't been so bad in the summer. Back then, he could live in the forest, gathering berries and occasionally catching a hare or a fish, but that became impossible once the snow fell. He had to relocate to the city, which was already occupied by a whole army of beggars, most of whom were bigger, stronger and had absolutely no intention to share their meager supplies with a newcomer. Especially if the newcomer was a creepy child who looked like he was a bad luck charm. All he could do was to look for scraps and watch out for the locals. They didn't shy from using violence if somebody strayed into their territory. He had discovered it the hard way. And he was the lucky one. There were many ghosts of street kids who weren't as lucky lingering about. He could just see one huddled near a door, in a futile attempt to feel some warmth._

"_What are you doing here?" an angry voice demanded. He stiffened. He recognized the voice. Chuuichi. High up in the local gang. Also one of its most vicious members. Why did it have to be him? If it were anyone else, the boy might save himself by running, but Chuuichi would give pursuit. And being twice as tall as the boy, he'd have no trouble catching up to him. The best option was begging for his life. The boy hated it, but it might make Chuuichi beat him a little less._

"_I'm leaving, sir," he said in a humble voice._

"_You think that's a good answer? You had no business being here!" Chuuichi was scowling, but that was his default expression._

"_I am deeply sorry."_

"_Sorry isn't going to cut it, whelp. Do you think you can just come here, steal our stuff and then get away with just saying sorry? I'm going to teach you." So Chuuichi was in one of his extra violent moods today. There would be no reasoning with him. Escape was the only option now, however slim his chances were. He turned on his heels and ran. If he made it just behind the corner, there was an old empty stall he could knock into Chuuichi's way and slow him down. That might be enough for him to get lost in the labyrinth of streets._

_He didn't make it. He made it just a little over halfway to the corner when he felt Chuuichi's hand grabbing at his collar. His heart sank._

"_Did you think you can run, you little piece of crap?" the bigger boy growled. The younger one froze. He was caught. There was no running anymore. He kicked at Chuuichi's knee, in an attempt to wriggle free, but it only served to anger the goon. He turned him around and lifted him into the air. "You're going to pay for this." He pulled a switchblade from his pocked and flipped it open. The boy's fear surged. It started snowing._

"_What's going on here?" a raspy voice demanded. They both turned to see an old woman at the end of the street._

"_Mind your own business, hag," Chuuichi barked, dismissing the woman from his attention and turning back to his captive. The boy was getting panicked now. He kicked and punched frantically, even tried yelling for help, but he knew that it wasn't going to save him. Nobody would bother to help a street urchin, not even the local police. Providing they bothered to patrol the streets in this weather._

"_Quiet, brat," Chuuichi punched him. "I can't stand when little pipsqueaks whine." He pressed the knife into the boy's skin, making him scream in terror. "What did I tell you?" Chuuichi growled, dragging the knife across the skin, carving a shallow wound on the boy's chest. "You'll be quiet or I'm going to hurt you even worse."_

_And then that thing appeared. The boy's eyes widened when he spotted it. He had no idea what it was, but he was certain that it was dangerous. Even more than Chuuichi. And it was looking straight at him. He couldn't help the scream of terror escaping his mouth._

"_I told to be quiet," Chuuichi growled, slicing him again. But the boy couldn't help screaming. It was hard not to scream in face of the horror he saw. It looked like the cross between several animals that had been badly deformed and equipped with a twisted carnival mask. Also sharp claws. And its glowing eyes were burning holes through the boy._

_Chuuichi finally realized that his victim wasn't scared of him, but staring at something behind him. He turned around, but he couldn't see anything disturbing. Only the old hag was still standing there. That whelp must be trying to play him for a fool, he thought. His suspicion was confirmed when the boy took advantage of his inattention, kicked him in the stomach and tried to free himself from his grasp. Chuuichi whirled back, but that only made him lose his balance. They both tumbled to the ground._

_The monster pounced. The boy was lucky that Chuuichi loosened his grasp as he fell, so he managed to roll away. Chuuichi, still unaware of the danger, stayed on his place and was sliced open by its claws. The old woman at the end of the street screamed in terror. The boy scrambled to his feet, his fear peaking. The monster turned to him, its eyes behind the mask glowing with hunger. Chuuichi's corpse was completely ignored. The boy knew that its target was him and that he wouldn't be able to escape. That was probably the time when his life should flash before his eyes, but it didn't happen. Instead he felt something stir within him and calm resolve settle over him._

_The monster attacked. He saw it flying at him. He stood his ground. As it neared him, he punched its mask with all his might. The deformed body slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. Its sharp claws pierced his flesh. His resolve disappeared. He expected to die any moment, but it didn't happen. The monster didn't move. Its mask was cracked. It let out a piercing wail before turning away and disappearing._

"_Murder!" the old woman screamed. The boy stared. He surveyed the situation he was in. Chuuichi was lying nearby, obviously dead, he was next to him, covered in blood and Chuuichi's bloody knife lay between them. And the monster was gone. Besides, he had already figured that the monster was something only he could see. There was no way he could explained this to the police, that is if they would bother to ask for an explanation. There was only one thing he could do. He got up and run. He ran and hoped that the falling snow would cover his track. He had to get out of this city. The woman had seen him and his appearance was pretty unique. He'd have to try his luck somewhere else. He ran, until he left the maze of streets. He ran until he couldn't see the houses anymore. And then he ran on and on until he couldn't run anymore._

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya awoke panting. This had been the most vivid dream he had ever had. As his heartbeat returned to its normal pace, he wondered what did it mean. Was that really what had happened? Or was it just a figment of his imagination? There was really no way to be completely sure, but it had felt real enough. Hitsugaya decided to consider it a true memory. So was that how he had died? That word didn't sit well with him. He didn't like thinking about himself as 'dead.' He knew he was a spirit, but he felt perfectly alive, thank you very much. He decided not to worry about semantics and think about what the dream meant.

The first thing that came to mind was that maybe now the dreams would end. It was a happy thought. Hitsugaya never appreciated waking in the middle of the night, panting, with frost covering everything around. While that itself was a good thing, was it good enough? Was that the thing he had forgotten Hyourinmaru had been talking about?

"_What do you say?" _he asked.

"_**What do you think?" **_the zanpakutou spirit answered. Hitsugaya sighed. So Hyourinmaru was just as helpful as usual.

"_I have to figure it out on my own, don't I?"_

"_**Do you really have to ask?"**_

So Hyourinmaru was really intent on letting him deal with it on his own. So what else was new? Hitsugaya sighed again and started analyzing the dream. He decided to consider it a true memory and not just something his sleeping mind had concocted. So where should he start analyzing it? Maybe at the beginning. So first: why was he living alone on the streets? No idea. His memories remained blank on the subject. He could speculate, but that would do him no good. He just lived on the streets and he didn't meet some 'Granny' and 'Hinamori' to take him in. It made him appreciate his luck in his afterlife.

The next question that popped in his mind was why did the memory scare him so much he had suppressed it. That seemed easy enough to answer. There had been a monster attacking. A Hollow, his mind supplied. And it had been after him. That would be enough to scare all children (he didn't consider himself a child anymore). Then a man had been killed right in front of him. Brutally. It hadn't been somebody he would miss, but that didn't matter. He couldn't remember anything that had happened before, but he was pretty sure that it had been the first time he had seen somebody eviscerated. Then he got blamed for his death by that old lady. He couldn't really begrudge her, she couldn't see the Hollow and there had been no-one else. The conclusion she had reached was logical. And considering the Hollow had been after him, he really was guilty of Chuuichi's death, though indirectly. And lastly, he had died in the end. Alone, cold, in a snowstorm. Now that he thought about it, the snowstorm hadn't started until after Chuuichi had caught him. Was it his fear that had unconsciously raised his reiatsu and that in turn had caused the snow? Or was it just normal weather, considering that it had been winter and the sky had been heavy with clouds? Was his reiatsu back then even enough to accomplish something like that? He had been able to see ghosts and Hollows, so he had to have had some. And he had probably even used some to crack the Hollow's mask. But was it enough? Did he die in a blizzard he himself had caused? This was probably a place where he should start laughing hysterically, only it wasn't really funny.

He shook himself. Pondering whether his death had been ironic or not was a tad bit morbid for his tastes. He still disliked the thought. He should move on to some more pleasant topic. Like what did it mean that he had finally remembered. Why did it happen? He didn't know. Maybe Kyouraku-taichou had been right and he just had to wait tor whenever the time came? Or was it something else entirely? He couldn't remember anything extraordinary happening in the last few days. So why today? No clue.

He decided to move on to the biggest question that had been bothering him. Did remembering all this mean that he could finally get over his fear? That would be nice, but something told him that it wasn't going to be so easy. Recalling all this might be an important step, but the road was long. At least in his experience, everything important took a lot of effort to achieve. But maybe, just maybe remembering this made everything a bit better? He tried to examine his feelings. The fear was still there. The realization that his out-of-control power might have killed even himself wasn't really helping any. He'd have to come to terms with it first. And now was a good time to begin.

So did his powers help anything? Well, he had chased the Hollow away. But he had lured it earlier, so it didn't really count. Look as he might, he couldn't find something positive here. The only moral he got from this story was that uncontrolled reiryoku was really dangerous. But that was something he had known for years now. If he wanted to look for something positive in all this, it was only that remembering it helped him face it. Was that right?

"_Hey, Hyourinmaru, is that right?"_

"_**Why do you ask when you already know the answer?**__**" **_The dragon raised an eyebrow. _**"You stopped running from your memories finally."**_

"_But that isn't enough, is it?__" _Hitsugaya sighed. _"I still haven't found my resolve."_

"_**Don't lose heart, little one,"**_the zanpakutou spirit encouraged him. _**"You will find it. Eventually."**_

"_I can't wait for this 'eventually.' Any idea when it will come?"_

The dragon chuckled. _**"Not really."**_

"_I thought so."_

Hitsugaya decided that the eventually wasn't going to come while he lay in his bed, so he got up and headed for the training grounds. There, alone in the wee hours of morning, he felt no fear of his own power. He released Hyourinmaru and trained. The ice dragons formed exactly as he commanded and hit wherever he wished them to. He had almost perfect control of his shikai. Yet he knew that the moment he would be in battle, the panic will steal his heart again. But maybe, just maybe the next time would be different? He had stopped running from his memories, dammit! He concluded that there was no way to know. He had to wait for the next battle and see.

**Battle and resolve**

At first, the day seemed ordinary. Hitsugaya's unit was patrolling South Rukongai, the sun was shining brightly, making it uncomfortably hot, the birds were trying to outdo each other at singing and the natives were hiding in their houses and Touji was complaining about the boredom, Wasabi was complaining about Touji's whining and Ueshiba was telling them both to shut up. It looked like one of the days when nothing could possibly happen. That all changed with the arrival of a Hell Butterfly. Hitsugaya let it land on his finger and listened to its message. And gulped. It looked like a squad from another division had gotten in trouble with a bunch of Giant Hollows and Hitsugaya's unit was the closest to the site of battle, so they were ordered to race there and help out. He really didn't want to get into a tough battle again. What if he froze again? What if he hurt somebody again? He was scared. But orders were orders and he had to obey them. He told his subordinates to move and follow him to where the battle was supposed to be happening.

It didn't take long before they could feel the reiatsu clashing. Considering the number of signatures, the battle had to be big. It was hard to tell how many Hollows and shinigami were there, but Hitsugaya thought that he just felt one shinigami reiatsu flicker and disappear. The Hollows' was still strong. The battle wasn't going well for the shinigami. They had to help them. He'd have to fight, forget about his fear and hope for the best.

A few minutes of running and shunpo later, they could see the enemy. The report wasn't kidding when it spoke about Giant Hollows, they easily towered over the few trees growing around the area. He could already count seven of them and there could be some smaller ones he couldn't see. It was really bad. Even one Giant Hollow was bad news for an ordinary shinigami patrol. Seven of them spelled a disaster. Whoever was still fighting them must be elite.

But that brought back the problem of using too much power and hurting his comrades. With enemies like these, he couldn't afford to hold back. And not holding back meant... he tried to stop the thought, but he couldn't. It appeared in his mind again. The man encased in ice, shattered into pieces. His own subordinates suffering frostbite. It was almost enough to make him turn tail and run. But he couldn't. He just couldn't become a complete coward. He couldn't refuse to help the unit in need out of fear that he might hurt them. Because if he did, then all of them would die for sure. Just as he thought it, another shinigami reiatsu disappeared. With their numbers dwindling, the survivors would have a harder time not getting killed. Any moment of hesitation could get another one ripped apart.

A kidou blast flew from the ground and hit one of the Hollows straight in the mask. It roared in annoyance, looking slightly charred but otherwise unhurt. The Hadou was shortly followed by a fireball, but this time the Hollow dodged. It then swept one of its clawed hands down. There was an ear-piercing shriek of pain. When the Hollow lifted its arm again, its claws were dripping blood. There really was no time to spare. Hitsugaya pushed his all into shunpo and rushed to the battle. His subordinates would have to catch up.

It took him just two flash steps to reach his destination. Nobody seemed to have noticed him yet. He capitalized on it. Another quick shunpo brought him on the shoulders of the Hollow with the bloody claw and a powerful slice with Hyourinmaru cleaved its head and mask in half. The Hollow disintegrated into black reishi. But now everybody noticed him. One of the other Hollows shot some kind of extending spears at him. He blocked, but the force behind the hit sent him flying straight into another Hollow. This one spat some grey goo at him that looked either acidic or poisonous or both. It was an unusual show of cooperation from the Hollows, but so were seven of them attacking at once.

"Enkosen!" Hitsugaya called being unable to dodge midair. The spinning shield of yellow energy appeared, blocking the goo and scattering it all directions. He was grateful for all the Kidou lessons with Hinamori, otherwise he would have trouble casting Bakudou #39 so quickly.

Hitsugaya landed on the ground and dodged an attack from a third Hollow, who tried to smash him with its hammer-like appendages. He jumped and cut into the Hollow's leg, restraining its mobility, but nearly got smashed again in the process. It looked like he was going to be on the defensive in this fight.

"Terikagayake, Nijihebi!" The shout announced the arrival of his second-in-command. The snake of light flared to life and bit the knee of the nearest Hollow. But then its mistress was blindsided by another one and was too late to dodge. She just managed to twist her body enough that the sharp caws had only scratched her, but she ended on the ground in a pool of her own blood all the same. One of the shinigami from the surviving group appeared next to her and blocked another attack. Narimi pushed herself from the ground, intent on fighting on, but it was obvious that she had trouble moving.

Soon, more of Hitsugaya's subordinates arrived to the battle. Hitsugaya couldn't watch it. He was too busy blocking the onslaught of extending claws one of the Hollows put him under. A shadow suddenly falling on him was his only warning that another of the Hollows joined the fray. He just barely dodged the mallet-like appendage. And then he was attacked by a small but fast Hollow he hadn't noticed earlier. He evaded its attack and tried to slash it, but it twisted aside and continued on its path to attack someone else. A tortured shriek pierced the air. It sounded like Yamada.

That confirmed his initial assessment that they would stand no chance if he didn't fight at his best. Yet he was still reluctant to release. There were bodies of shinigami from the original ambushed unit lying around and some of them appeared to be still breathing. He was still scared that he would hurt them. His control wasn't good enough to prevent it.

The Hollow with extending claws attacked again. Hitsugaya dodged swiftly. The claws dug into the ground next to one downed shinigami. As they retracted, they were covered in blood, showing that they dealt damage. Hitsugaya cursed. His reluctance to release hurt his comrades just as his unleashed reiatsu would. What was he supposed to do? Whatever he did, he would cause somebody's injury and probably even death. He felt the familiar sense of panic rising in him. Dammit! He couldn't freeze here! They would be all dead! It was already apparent that his subordinates alone wouldn't be enough to deal with this pack of Hollows. Though they had taken down one in a lucky hit, three of them were already wounded, one completely unable to fight. He had to act. But the terror he was feeling wouldn't let him. He almost didn't see the next attack of the extending claws. He blocked at the last possible moment, but it wasn't enough. The attack knocked him to the ground and one of the claws cut a shallow gash into his thigh. The pain shook him from his stupor somewhat, but it didn't make his fear disappear.

"Shiro-chan!"

The shout struck him to the core. Hinamori? What was she doing here? Then he remembered the report that had sent them here. Didn't it mention that the unit in trouble was from the Fifth Division? He hadn't been paying enough attention. It looked like Hinamori was the leader of the ambushed squad and he hadn't noticed her because she had been hidden behind one of the Hollows.

Now when he turned his head, he could see her. She was racing towards him, her shihakushou torn and soaked in blood, the cloth from her bun missing and her hair trailing behind her, the released Tobiume in her hands, blade glowing with fire. In that moment, she looked like some goddess of war and rage from ancient legends. Hitsugaya could only stare.

Hinamori swung her zanpakutou down and the fireball separated from it, hitting the hand with the extending claws that were once again heading for Hitsugaya. The fireball incinerated them completely. The Hollow roared in pain. Tobiume's pronged blade flared with bright flames again as her wielder prepared for another attack.

Then Hinamori's determined expression suddenly turned into one of pain and surprise. The flames around her sword died down and she collapsed to the ground, Tobiume returning to its sealed state. Hitsugaya could now see something like an arrow protruding from Momo's back. It wasn't a lethal wound, but it was a serious one.

Toushirou could now see the one who had injured her. It was one of the Hollows. The biggest, meanest and judging by its reiatsu also the strongest one. It looked like it was only a couple Hollows consumed away from evolving into a Menos. Hinamori must have been fighting it up to now and occupying its attention, but when she had rushed to save him, it got free rein. Hitsugaya could immediately tell how its engagement in the battle would turn its tides. It had some kind of appendages on its forearms that were generating and shooting arrows with deadly speed, force and precision. If somebody wasn't occupying its attention constantly, it would snipe all the present shinigami in under a minute. And if even Hinamori, a Fifth Seat, couldn't defeat it, it meant he was the only one who could.

The Hollow whose arm Hinamori had fried wasn't idle either. It got over its initial shock of losing a limb and was now intent on exacting revenge. It jumped closer to the prone girl, raising its uninjured fist to pound her into a bloody mess. There was about a second before Hinamori was going to die.

Hinamori was about to die. The realization shook Hitsugaya to the core. As he saw the fast descending claw, all his hesitation and fear disappeared. There was only Hinamori, helpless and in need of being saved, and the Hollow who attempted to take her life. In that moment, all hesitation disappeared. He had to save Hinamori. Nothing else mattered.

In one swift movement, he was on his feet. A quick shunpo brought him towards Hinamori. He blocked the claws threatening her.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru!" he growled. He didn't stop to think about the effect his reiatsu might have on his subordinates. He concentrated on killing the Hollow that wanted to kill Hinamori. The Hollow recoiled in surprise when the icy reiatsu slammed into it. Hitsugaya didn't give it the time to recover. One swing of his zanpakutou's blade and an ice dragon slammed into its stomach, tearing and freezing its flesh and knocking it to the ground. In a flash, Hitsugaya appeared on its chest and cleaved its mask in half. It didn't even have the time to roar in pain before it died.

Hitsugaya turned around, murder in his eyes. Now for the Hollow who had hurt Hinamori. The arrow-firing Hollow was now facing him, its launchers filled with new arrows to hurl at him. Which it did almost before Hitsugaya stopped turning. The boy noticed it and quickly shunpoed high into the air. The arrows missed him widely. Hitsugaya whirled his sword in the air for a moment, making an ice dragon appear. This made the attack more powerful than if he fired it straight away. The downside was that it also took more time. The Hollow reloaded its launchers for another attack. Hitsugaya swung his sword and let the dragon fly. It crashed into the arrows midair. The arrows pierced the ice and remained stuck. The dragon continued on its path, but it was a bit slower now. The Hollow tried to dodge. With its huge bulk, it couldn't move fast enough, but it still almost managed. The ice dragon merely grazed its upper left arm.

The Hollow raised his left arm and aimed the launcher at Hitsugaya. Midair, he couldn't dodge. He quickly swung his sword, creating another ice dragon. He let it coil under his feet and used it as a springboard for another shunpo. It was just in time. The dragon was shattered by the arrows almost as soon as he left it.

Now Hitsugaya was standing on the ground again, not far from the sniper Hollow. He threw the crescent blade and let the attached chain wrap around the Hollow's leg. When it noticed what happened, it let out an annoyed screech and tried to smash the chain. But it held fast. Hitsugaya channeled his reiryoku through the chain, making ice appear around the Hollow's leg. It tried to shake it of, but it couldn't. And the cold seeped deeper into its leg, freezing it slowly. Seeing this, the Hollow changed tactics. It jumped towards Hitsugaya and tried to punch him. The boy jumped away. The Hollow stumbled, because its half-frozen leg didn't obey it as well as usually. Hitsugaya capitalized on it. He rushed towards the captured leg and struck it with Hyourinmaru with all his strength. The appendage shattered. The Hollow roared in pain and rage and tumbled to the ground. Hitsugaya narrowly escaped being crushed under it.

The Hollow landed face-first, but it quickly turned on its back and pushed itself into a sitting position. Both its forearm arrow launchers were full again and prepared to fire. Which it did the moment it spotted Hitsugaya. Only his fastest shunpo saved the boy from being pierced through. He appeared behind the Hollow's back. He had a clean shot on it, but before he could strike and purify it, another Hollow attacked him from behind. He had barely the time to position Hyourinmaru's blade to block, before the attack hit him and sent him flying. He rolled on the ground, cursing. In his focus on the arrows-firing Hollow he had almost forgotten there were at least five others.

As he got up, he saw that the Hollow that had attacked him was the small, fast one. He'd have to take it out first otherwise things would get troublesome. Just as he thought it, he heard a telltale whoosh in the air. He quickly shunpoed away, but a sharp pain along his ribs informed him that he didn't quite make it. The shooting Hollow's arrow had grazed him. Troublesome was really a good word to describe this situation.

The small Hollow turned and readied to attack him again. In the brief moment of reprieve, Hitsugaya looked around to see how the others were doing. He could see Ueshiba, Takahashi and a man he didn't recognize fighting a Hollow with tentacles. Kuno and some woman were firing Kidou at the Hollow with the mallet-like appendages. Wasabi was lying on the ground unmoving as were several others he didn't recognize. He couldn't see where the others were. Then the small Hollow attacked and he had no time for looking anymore.

The small Hollow charged at him with its claws poised to strike. Hitsugaya waited at the last moment before jumping aside. He threw the chain on his zanpakutou simultaneously. The charging Hollow's legs got entangled in it and it stumbled. It was all that Hitsugaya needed. He appeared on its back with a flash and cleaved its skull in half.

He straightened up, half expecting another volley of arrows heading for him. But it didn't happen. He could see why: the arrows-firing Hollow was occupied fighting Minamoto. It somehow found a position where it could turn around so it didn't have a blind spot. It was giving Minamoto a lot of trouble. The man was bleeding from several wounds. Hitsugaya rushed to assist him.

His attack was fast and furious. The Hollow was too preoccupied with Minamoto and noticed him too late. It turned to block his attack, but Minamoto used the opportunity to stab his neck. The Hollow roared in anger. The moment of distraction was all Hitsugaya needed. An ice dragon formed on his sword and he sent it flying at the Hollow's mask. It was frozen and shattered in an instant.

Having dealt with the biggest threat, Hitsugaya could spare a moment to see how the others were faring. Kuno and the woman from the Fifth seemed to be doing alright. They didn't inflict any damage on the mallet-wielding Hollow, but they managed to dodge all its attacks. Ueshiba, Takahashi and whoever was with them were holding their ground too, though they were sporting more wounds than the last time he had looked. Touji was barely standing, trying to fend off a Hollow with something that looked like saws in place of its arms. Two shinigami he didn't recognize lay close to her feet. They seemed to be the ones who needed him the most.

He quickly shunpoed close and sliced of the saw-like appendage that had been threatening to cut the woman in half. The Hollow roared in pain. Touji used the opportunity to stab Nijihebi at its leg. But she was too weakened and her blade couldn't pierce the thick skin. The Hollow kicked, sending her flying. It paid no attention to Hitsugaya at the moment. It proved to be a fatal mistake. The prodigy had enough time to create a powerful ice dragon. When the Hollow finally noticed it, it had only the time to look surprised. The dragon slammed into it and flew right through. The Hollow fell to the ground in two pieces. Hitsugaya quickly finished it with a strike to its head.

Another dragon then destroyed the Hollow Kuno and his partner were fighting. Hitsugaya then tried to hit the one attacking Ueshiba and Takahashi, but it dodged. Ueshiba managed to slash its leg with his zanpakutou, but it wasn't a serious wound. Hitsugaya quickly shunpoed there. Close up, he had little trouble hitting the Hollow. It took only a minute before it was purified.

Now only one Hollow remained. When it saw the fate of its comrades, it tried to run. Hitsugaya gave pursuit. He was a lot faster than the Hollow. He caught up to it quickly and purified it with one powerful strike to its head.

Hitsugaya then landed on the ground, panting. This battle had taken more from him than he thought.

"_**This was much better, little one."**_

"_Hyourinmaru?"_

"_**This is how you can fight if you aren't too scared to do so,"**_ the dragon elaborated. Hitsugaya thought about his words for a moment. He realized that they were true. He hadn't been scared. Not even for a moment. The realization surprised him so much that he had to sit down to deal with it. After what had felt like forever though in fact was only a few months spent in constant fear, the sensation was suddenly completely gone. How did it happen? When? Why? He remembered being scared when he had entered the battle. He hadn't released his shikai despite knowing that it would make the battle easier. That all ended when Hinamori was hurt. The moment he saw the Hollow about to finish her, something inside him snapped. He thought only about protecting her and then about destroying the Hollows who wanted to hurt her and all others. And even when the danger passed, the fear and doubts didn't come back. So protecting Hinamori was the key he needed to finding his lost resolve.

"_**That's the right mindset,"**_ Hyourinmaru praised him. Hitsugaya didn't answer. He just remembered something: Hinamori was hurt. He jumped to his feet and raced to the battlefield.


	13. Dragon's Flight

**Author's note: **Sorry it took longer than I thought, but here finally comes the next chapter. I hope it's up to your standards. I;m behind on posting illustrations now. I have them made, but I can't upload them until I get to a working scanner, which should take a few days. Be patient, please. You'll get the promised illustrations for this and the previous chapters soon and a guide to Hitsugaya's subordinates as a bonus, in case you're interested in keeping track on who's who.

Also the next chapter is close to being finished, so it should be up sooner than this one. Hopefully. That's all I wanted to say, so now enjoy the story.**  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.  
**

**On the Frozen Plain – The Dragon's Flight**

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The first few hours after the battle were a nightmare. Hitsugaya wanted just to sit next to Hinamori and not move an inch from her side, but there were others who needed his attention more. No matter how horrific Momo's injury looked at first glance, it wasn't life-threatening. Others weren't so lucky. Especially some shinigami from the Fifth looked like they wouldn't last until the Fourth's healers showed up. Others were already dead. Hitsugaya considered it a small miracle that all of his subordinates were still in one piece. And that there was very little ice around them. Had he been worrying for nothing? He couldn't help but think about what would have happened if he hadn't found his resolve when he did or if he had fought with his all since the beginning. The thought was threatening to send him into a panic attack, but somehow he managed to fend it off. He had found his resolve after such a long and harsh struggle, so he wasn't going to let go of it, no matter what was going on.

When the Fourth finally arrived, he kept ordering them around, telling them who to treat first, until the commander of the Fourth's emergency response squad snapped at him, told him that they knew their work better than him and that he should let the healers take a look at him too and pointed at all the wounds on his body. Hitsugaya blinked in surprise. He didn't realize he had half of them until the woman pointed it out. It was also at that moment when he realized that he was quite tired. He stopped running frantically around and let the healers drag him to the General Relief Station.

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Once the healers gave him a clear bill of health, he rushed to find Hinamori's room. The nurse on duty insisted that he shouldn't disturb the patient, but he glared at her icily and she shivered and stepped aside. Nothing prevented him from opening the door after that. He pushed them aside gently and walked inside.

Momo was lying on the pillows, looking small and pale in the sea of white linen. She was asleep, lying still, only the slow raising of her chest showing that she was alive. But she was alive and Hitsugaya even thought he could see the color returning to her cheeks. Slightly. She was going to be alright. He stood above her bed, watching her sleep, for a long while. Only when the shadows in the room became longer and deeper he turned to leave.

"Shiro-chan?" The voice stopped him in his tracks when he was about to open the door. Ordinarily, he would get angry about the nickname, but now he only felt relieved to hear Hinamori speak.

"Bed-wetter Momo?"

"You're alright?" It was a testament to how distraught the girl was that she didn't even react to her embarrassing nickname.

"Of course," Hitsugaya answered. "I had just a couple of scratches. You should worry about yourself."

"The Hollow was about to kill you," Hinamori stated. Toushirou blushed. He didn't like being reminded of his weakness, of the moment when he had needed to be rescued by his old friend.

"You were the one who got almost killed," he pointed out. "You should pay more attention to what's behind you."

"You were about to get killed," she countered. "I had to save you. I couldn't think of anything else." Hitsugaya couldn't find it in himself to scold her. When he had seen Momo about to get crushed, saving her had been all he could think about too.

"Don't overdramatize it," he said dismissively, "I was only slightly wounded. I could have held my own without your assistance."

"It didn't look that way from where I was standing," she replied. "The Hollow was knocking you around." Hitsugaya blushed again. He couldn't honestly deny Hinamori's words.

"I could have handled myself," he insisted stubbornly, but it sounded childish even to his own ears.

"Sure," Momo rolled her eyes. "How did you even get out of it? I don't know what happened after I was hit."

"The Hollows wanted to kill you so I killed them," Hitsugaya replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's a very short version, Shiro-chan," Momo chided. In her opinion, all stories should be told in detail. It always annoyed her how she had to pry everything out of Toushirou.

"Don't call me Shiro-chan!" Hitsugaya pouted. Now his initial feeling of relief was over, he had no intention to put up with the nickname anymore. Hinamori just rolled her eyes.

"I don't se why you mind so much." Her Shiro-chan was her Shiro-chan. Calling him anything else sounded wrong to her.

"Because." Hitsugaya thought it didn't require any more explanation.

"I've always called you Shiro-chan," Momo said like there was nothing wrong with it.

"And I've always hated it," he answered.

"Do we have to argue about it now?" Hinamori sighed. "You still have to tell me what happened after I was hit. Did more reinforcements come?"

"No," the boy shook his head, "it was only us."

"So how did we win?" the girl inquired. "We won, haven't we? Because if we didn't we'd be dead, wouldn't we?"

"Yes," Toushirou confirmed.

"So how did we win?" she wanted to know. "Last time I checked, we were losing badly."

"As I told you," Hitsugaya shrugged, "when I saw the Hollows about to kill you, I killed them and then all the others."

"But how?" she insisted. "You were losing."

"You got hurt. I had to win to save you so I did." Explaining more would be too bothersome. Hinamori knew nothing about his recent struggle and he saw no reason to change it.

"It couldn't be that easy," Momo said.

"It was," Hitsugaya shrugged. "It made me use every bit of my strength."

"And fighting for your life didn't?" the girl looked at him skeptically.

"Fighting for your life was a better motivation," he answered sincerely.

"Really? That's sweet of you, Shiro-chan," Hinamori replied in a distant tone. It was as if she didn't comprehend what did Hitsugaya just say.

"I mean it, Hinamori. I'd take on anyone to save you." He realized he might have said more than he wanted, but he wasn't about to take back his words.

"I'd do the same for you," she replied. Hitsugaya smiled slightly. Hearing her say it caused a warm feeling spread around his heart. He knew she would do it even before she rushed to his aid during the battle, but hearing her say it somehow made it more real.

"I hope you wouldn't have to do it again," he said.

"Me too," she sighed. "And that you wouldn't have to save me."

"Considering the life we lead, that's unlikely," Hitsugaya mused.

"Did you have to get so depressing?" Momo sighed. "Speaking about it, do you know what happened with my unit?"

"I don't know all the details," Hitsugaya sighed. "I think at least four are dead, but I don't know their names." Momo's demeanor instantly changed. Whatever color had returned to her face disappeared again. She seemed paler than the sheets she lay on.

"I saw Ishiwara die and I think Endou too, but who are the others?"

"I don't know," Toushirou shook his head sadly. Momo's eyes watered.

"Am I a bad commander, Shiro-chan?" she asked, her eyes wide and pleading. Hitsugaya didn't know what to answer. "I am a bad commander, aren't I?"

"Of course not," Toushirou said, finally finding his voice. He didn't sound convincing enough.

"I am a bad commander," she sobbed. "My men are dead and I don't even know which ones."

"That's not your fault," Hitsugaya tried to reassure her with no result.

"It is," she insisted. "I am a Fifth Seat, I should be strong enough to protect them."

"There were at least seven giant Hollows and some smaller ones, no Fifth Seat can be expected to defeat them all," Hitsugaya reminded her. His words fell on deaf ears.

"Aizen-taichou entrusted them to me and I got them killed," Momo despaired. "I failed him. How can I face him again?"

Toushirou felt a sour taste in his mouth. How could Hinamori worry about Aizen now? It was a completely wrong thing to worry about! Shouldn't she worry about her subordinates, both the dead ones and the still surviving ones more? But this was typical for Hinamori. Ever since she had first glanced at him, Aizen-taichou became the most important thing in her life. Nothing Hitsugaya did could change it.

"He'll understand," he said, not knowing whether it was true. It didn't matter. Momo didn't listen. She was bawling her eyes out now, not paying any attention to what was going on around her. Hitsugaya embraced her awkwardly in an attempt to calm her down. Momo latched onto him like her life depended on it. He let her sob on his shoulder until exhaustion took over her, which thankfully didn't take long. He gently laid her down on the bed and left the room quietly.

Once out, he got scolded by the nurse for disturbing the patient, but he paid it no mind. He was more concerned with cheering up Hinamori again. It would be hard to find the time with all of his duties, but he resolved to do so. It took him over a week before he found the time. Momo looked much better by then. As she informed him, it was because Aizen-taichou wasn't angry with her ("He is so kind!"). But she still devoted her every spare minute to training, because she wanted to be strong enough the next time something like this happened. While Hitsugaya was glad that she was feeling better, he didn't like how much she was obsessed with Aizen. He decided to visit her more often to distract her from her devotion, but he found little time to do so. He had his own training to do.

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It's been months since he had last tried this. Months that had felt like years. He was anxious. Was he still capable of doing it? Or did his abilities deteriorate? Would he have to start anew? But fear would only hamper him. And what was there to fear anyway? Even in case everything he had learned during the first two years had been lost, he'd just relearn it. Now he knew how it was done it shouldn't take too long.

But idle musing wasn't going to get him anywhere. He had to stop procrastinating and start training again. He headed for the place he had attempted materialization the last time. Though it had been only a few months since he had visited it, it felt oddly nostalgic. That didn't sit well with Hitsugaya. He was too young to feel nostalgic. That was reserved for old men. And as much as Hitsugaya hated being considered a child, it was still better than being an old man. Being a child wasn't a permanent condition.

He cast off such feelings. He came here for a purpose. He had to concentrate. He sat cross-legged on the grass and laid his unsheathed zanpakutou on his lap. He ran his fingers along the familiar cold blade. Would he be able to call its spirit out today? He shook his head. He was procrastinating again. He should stop it. Just after... no, he had to stop it now, or he was going to lose his nerve.

He took a deep breath and began. Searching for Hyourinmaru was just as easy as always. Even while he had been drowning in despair, he could find the dragon without any trouble. Grabbing him went smoothly too. So far so good. But the crucial part was yet to come. Hitsugaya took another deep breath and pulled. He encountered the familiar resistance. That was expected, but he felt a sliver of doubt nevertheless. Would he be able to do it or would the resistance prove too much? He pulled harder. He felt Hyourinmaru moving, as the spirit was slowly forced out of his inner world. The outline of the ice dragon was slowly forming in front of him. Hitsugaya forced more reiatsu into the projection, willing it to take form. He didn't stop until he couldn't go on anymore.

He studied the apparition in front of him. Was it weaker than before? Stronger? The same? He couldn't decide. It had been so long since the last time he did it he couldn't recall exactly how detailed the materialization had been the last time. In the end, he decided that it looked about the same. So he didn't lose the progress he had made, at least not much of it. That was good. It meant he didn't have to undergo the training from the beginning again after all. He could pick up where he had stopped. He'd complete it that much sooner. That was good. He couldn't wait for it. But it wouldn't happen anytime soon if he didn't make it happen. He had to train a lot more. So he prepared himself and attempted the materialization again.

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The blade sliced through the air. Ice appeared around it, forming the likeness of a dragon's head. Another swing of the sword and the dragon took flight. It surged through the air, heading straight for the giant Hollow's mask. The Hollow spotted it and tried to evade, but the ice dragon changed its trajectory, pursuing it relentlessly. There was no escape for the monster. The dragon caught up to it and slammed into its head, freezing and shattering it. The attack had been executed perfectly, with no trace of hesitation. The Hollow dissolved into a black cloud of reishi that was quickly swept away by the wind. Hitsugaya allowed himself a small smile. One down, two to go.

The two remaining Hollows turned to him. Hitsugaya watched them intently, assessing their abilities. The one on the left was rather ordinary in appearance for a being of its kind. Multiple limbs, lots of claws and teeth, probably a melee-combat type. The one on the right resembled a caterpillar. The only way it could kill an opponent at close range would be by squashing him. It must have some other ability. The boy decided that this was the more dangerous of the two and had to be destroyed first.

He whirled Hyourinmaru in the air and willed another ice dragon to appear. To surely destroy a giant Hollow from this distance, he needed a powerful attack. That took a while to prepare. The Hollows weren't idle either. The clawed one rushed at him. The caterpillar-like one reared the front part of its body up and started making something with its tiny legs. Some white object was forming between them. It resembled a spider's web. Hitsugaya swung his zanpakutou and sent the dragon flying. Then he quickly dodged a claw swipe from the brawling Hollow.

Meanwhile, the ice dragon almost reached the caterpillar Hollow. The creature put its web into the dragon's path. The attack was sliced into little chunks of ice by the strands and didn't do much damage. So the caterpillar Hollow was really the more dangerous one.

The quickly approaching reiatsu warned Hitsugaya of the clawed Hollow's attack from behind. He quickly shunpoed to the side and threw the chain of his zanpakutou. It wrapped around the Hollow's legs. Hitsugaya sent his reiryoku into the chain and the creature's legs were encased in ice. One tug on the chain shattered them. The Hollow roared in pain.

The caterpillar Hollow used the time to shoot its web at Hitsugaya. The boy dodged. The web hit the crippled clawed Hollow instead and bound it. Those two Hollows didn't quite get the idea of teamwork. Their loss, Hitsugaya's gain. He took advantage of the situation and finished off the clawed Hollow with a strike to its head. Now only the caterpillar Hollow remained.

Hitsugaya shunpoed close to it. It tried to catch him in its web, but he shunpoed again, appearing behind it. One swing of Hyourinmaru sent an ice dragon flying at its head. To the Hollow's credit, the hit didn't kill it immediately, but it was so dazed by the pain that it didn't even notice Hitsugaya's next attack. The powerful slash sliced its head in two. It let out one last pained shriek and turned into reishi.

Hitsugaya landed on the ground, sealing and sheathing his zanpakutou. This battle had been easy.

"_**See what difference a steady heart makes?"**_Hyourinmaru asked.

"_Yes," _Hitsugaya answered. The difference amazed even him. His movements were suddenly easier, like a great weight had been removed from him. He could run faster, jump higher, strike stronger. His attacks became more powerful. His zanpakutou could slice through Hollow flesh and masks with ease he hadn't experienced before. He felt like he had been fighting with a wooden sword up to now.

"_**You know that fear blunts the blade," **_Hyourinmaru reminded him upon hearing his thoughts.

"_Of course," _the boy replied. The Academy instructors had drummed this very lesson into their students' heads mercilessly. But hearing it and actually experiencing it were two very different things. And the experience was wonderful. Hitsugaya wondered whether it would get even better once he achieved Bankai. He couldn't wait to try it.

"_**Impatient much?" **_the zanpakutou spirit chuckled. His wielder suddenly felt like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. _**"You still have a lot of work ahead of you if you want that."**_

"_I know," _Hitsugaya said. Though his materialization training was progressing well, he could still see through Hyourinmaru's form without any trouble. Even when he was being optimistic, he estimated it would take months before the materialized form would become fully corporeal. And optimistic estimates rarely came true. _"But I'm going to work until I do it. It doesn't matter how much work it is, I'm not going to stop."_

"_**That's the spirit," **_Hyourinmaru said approvingly. _**"If you were afraid of hard work, you wouldn't be worthy to wield me."**_

"_I know," _Hitsugaya answered. He couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated. Hyourinmaru's tasks tended to be very hard. He wasn't afraid of tackling them, but he had to wonder whether he'd be able to complete them all or whether he'd once receive one that would prove to be above his abilities. What would happen then?

"_**Don't worry, little one,"**_ the ice dragon said in what passed for a reassuring tone. _**"I know what kinds of tasks to give you and when."**_

"_Somehow, this didn't sound exactly reassuring," _Toushirou answered. He could see Hyourinmaru putting so much pressure on him that he would be one step from the breaking point constantly.

"_**Don't sell yourself short, child," **_Hyourinmaru chided. _**"You are strong. You can take much more than you think."**_

"_I hope you're right," _Hitsugaya sighed.

"_**When was I ever wrong?"**_ The zanpakutou spirit sounded smug.

"_Ther__e's a first time for everything," _the boy muttered.

"_**Now you're being grumpy again. Careful with it, yo**__**u might lose your resolve again,"**_ the dragon warned.

"_Don't be dramatic," _Hitsugaya snorted. _"It isn't about to happen. My resolve stands true."_

"_**You say that now,"**_Hyourinmaru replied. _**"But think carefully what your resolve is made from, little one. You might realize it is more fragile that you imagined."**_

"_I don't see what do you mean," _Toushirou grumbled._ "I know what I want and why. There's no chance of me forgetting it again."_

"_**I see you don't see what the problem is," **_the zanpakutou spirit sighed. _**"I don't expect to see you anytime soon, maybe never. I hope you wouldn't see a practical demonstration."**_

"_What demonstration?" _Hitsugaya was completely lost at this point of the conversation. What in the world was Hyourinmaru talking about?

"_**It doesn't really matter now," **_the dragon said dismissively. _**"For the moment, your resolve is strong so you should concentrate on training. You need to do a lot of it. Don't get cocky because of today's battle, there are stronger opponents than those."**_

"_I know," _the boy said. _"Let's not waste any more time."_

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hyourinmaru stood in front of him, perfectly solid, his icy scales glittering in the evening sun. He showed no sign of disappearing. Hitsugaya watched the sight in mild disbelief. Though he had worked towards this moment for years, he still couldn't believe that it really came to pass. He had to walk over to the dragon and touch his scales to make sure. They felt completely real to his touch. The materialized zanpakutou spirit watched him patiently.

"**Well?" **Hyourinmaru asked after a while.

"It's real," Hitsugaya said. "Completely solid."

"**Yes," **the dragon nodded. **"You did it."**

"Yes." Toushirou still felt like he was in a dream he was going to wake up from any time now.

"**You don't sound as happy as I would expect you to," **Hyourinmaru observed. **"Is something bothering you?"**

"Not really," the boy shook his head. "It's just that now I don't have to concentrate on the materialization training anymore, I started thinking about other things."

"**Such as?" **the dragon prompted.

"I'm wondering what lies ahead of us."

"**Are you worried about the battle?****" **Hyourinmaru inquired. **"Are you afraid that you cannot win?"**

"That's not it," Hitsugaya shook his head. Though he knew that the battle was going to be tough, that wasn't scaring him. He had fought his share of tough battles. One more didn't matter that much, even if it was going to be tougher than anything he had gone through before.

"**Than what?"**The zanpakutou spirit sounded like he didn't understand, which was unusual.

"I'm thinking about what comes afterwards," Hitsugaya explained.

"**What about it sounds so bad to you?"**Hyourinmaru inquired.

"I wonder how it will change us," the boy answered.

"**I presume you aren't worried about gaining more power****,"** the dragon said.

"Well, that too, but it isn't the main problem." Hitsugaya fell silent for a while, searching for the right words. Hyourinmaru watched him patiently. "I wonder how it will change us. What it would mean to you. Being subjugated." Maybe it was stupid and childish, but he liked his relationship with Hyourinmaru as it was. He wasn't sure whether it would stay the same once he proved his dominance over the zanpakutou spirit.

"**Is that all that bothers you? Don't worry, child." **There was a hint of patronizing in the dragon's voice. **"Achieving Bankai means I can spread my wings further and fly higher and faster."**

"So... you don't mind?" Toushirou asked, his voice uncertain. He had trouble believing that the dragon was really okay with it.

"**Of course not." **There was a hint of laughter at the ridiculous notion. **"I am a weapon, remember? Striving to become more powerful is in my nature. And Bankai is the ultimate power for a zanpakutou. And if you worry about our relationship, that's something that depends on you."**

"Thank you," Hitsugaya smiled, feeling much better. What Hyourinmaru said made sense.

"**There's really nothing to thank me for," **the ice dragon said. **"And besides, you still have quite some time to come to terms with it. You still can't keep me materialized long enough to fight me." **It was true. Hyourinmaru's form was already becoming transparent. With a sigh, Hitsugaya ended the materialization, letting the dragon return to his inner world. Though he had managed to materialize him fully, he still had to improve his endurance before he could attempt to gain Bankai. That would probably take some months.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_He was flying. The clouds were rushing past him. The snow-covered landscape deep under him glittered in the moonlight, its ethereal beauty disrupted only by the occasional shadows.__ He felt strong and energized as he raced with the wind high above it. It was the best feeling he had ever had._

"_**Ready to fly now?" **__a loud, rumbling voice asked. He turned his head. There was another dragon flying there. He recognized him immediately. Hyourinmaru._

"_Yes," he answered._

"_**Than let's fly!" **__Hyourinmaru suggested, flapping his wings faster._

"_Let's fly," he agreed, increasing his speed too. The ground below them turned into a white blur. They raced against the wind together._

.*****************************************************************************************.

This time Hitsugaya felt good when he woke up. It was a welcome change from the usual routine. There was no sense of fear and he wasn't panting. In fact, he felt almost happy. Even the snow around him couldn't spoil his mood. This dream was an omen, he decided. A good omen. It meant that he was finally ready to start training for Bankai for real. He could keep Hyourinmaru materialized for long periods of time for some weeks now. There was no need to wait any longer. He just had to take care of a few things and then he could begin. That thought made his heart beat faster. He couldn't wait for it.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"A month?" Ise Nanao asked.

"Yes," Hitsugaya nodded. "Is there a problem?" He was finally able to keep Hyourinmaru materialized for long periods of time. After three years of training, he was finally ready to fight with his zanpakutou spirit for Bankai. Now he only needed the time and place to do it. Somewhere nobody would interrupt him and no random passersby could be harmed. Somewhere far away from Seireitei and that was why he was asking the strict fukutaichou for leave, the maximum time he was allowed to take.

"It's unusual," she replied. "For a team leader to take a vacation this long, there would be complication to his unit. Do you realize that?"

"Yes," Hitsugaya nodded. "But I have full faith in Touji-san to lead the team in my stead. She is competent enough." And she had wanted the job for a long time. She deserved the chance.

"Such leave is usually only approved for serious reasons," she said. It was something he knew very well.

"I have a serious reason," the boy replied.

"What is it?" Lieutenant Ise inquired.

"It's personal," he replied. She looked at him dubiously. Surely she was remembering what she had heard from Hinamori: that he had next to no personal life.

"That isn't enough," Nanao shook her head. "I need a reason to approve your leave."

"This isn't what the rules say," Hitsugaya objected. "Reason isn't required to approve vacation of this length."

"In exceptional cases," she countered. "And I don't see how your case qualifies as exceptional."

"Can't you just take my word for it?" Toushirou tried, accompanying the plea with puppy eyes. He usually didn't resort to such methods, but he felt that the occasion warranted it.

"No," she answered resolutely. "And stop making puppy eyes on me. I get enough of it from the captain. If you don't give me a reason for your leave, I can't approve more than one week at a time."

Hitsugaya hesitated. Should he tell her and risk her laughing at him? Or having her believe him and be forced into a position of power he wasn't ready for? He didn't want anybody to know about his Bankai just yet, should he actually achieve it. Maybe he should just take the week. But a week was too short. Would he be able to win the battle against Hyourinmaru in such a short time?

Before he could decide, the door to the office opened and in stumbled Captain Kyouraku. He had obviously started drinking early today and the sake was taking effect. Or maybe he hadn't stopped drinking since yesterday's evening. With him, everything was possible.

"What's all this arguing about, Nanao-chan?" he asked.

"Nothing important," she answered curtly. Kyouraku's eyes found the paper on the table.

"A leave request?" he raised an eyebrow. "What is there to argue about?"

"The duration," she explained. "He has given me no reason to approve a full month of leave."

"Yare, yare, you're so uptight, Nanao-chan," Shunsui said.

"I'm merely doing my work properly," she snapped back. Toushirou could just hear the unsaid 'unlike a certain somebody.'

"You need to loosen up sometimes," Kyouraku suggested. "And young Hitsugaya too," he added laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "This is the first time you're asking for leave, isn't it?"

"Yes," Hitsugaya answered.

"Then it's about time you took the vacation," the captain concluded patting his shoulder. "Children should have the opportunity to be children, even if they are shinigami."

"But captain..." Ise-fukutaichou started scandalized, but Kyouraku stopped her with a glance.

"I insist," he said. "Let the kid enjoy himself why he's still young. Speaking of which, you had no vacation since you became my vice-captain too. You should take it easy too."

"And who would do all the work? You?" she raised an eyebrow. "This division would fall apart."

"So cold, Nanao-chan," Kyouraku pouted. She had little sympathy for him. But at least she obeyed him and approved Hitsugaya's vacation time. The boy bowed deeply to the two of them. He felt especially grateful to Kyouraku-taichou. So much that he didn't mind him calling him a child. Thanks to him, he had the time and privacy he needed and he didn't have to reveal his secret. He smiled as he left the office. In four days, his month off would start and then he would be able to fight for Bankai. Now all he needed to do was to pick a location.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He was awoken by somebody prodding his shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly. It was still dark outside, the eastern sky barely beginning to lighten. In the dim light, he could see the shiny form of Hyourinmaru hovering above him. Ever since he had managed to materialize his zanpakutou spirit completely, the dragon began appearing in the real world on his own. The first time it had happened, Hitsugaya had been quite startled, but he had gotten used to it since.

"**Awake finally, child?"**

"Hyourinmaru?" he said sleepily. "What's going on?"

"**What's going on?" **the dragon echoed. **"It's already morning."**

"It's still dark outside," the boy pointed out, wishing to go back to sleep. He didn't feel rested enough.

"**The sun will rise soon," **Hyourinmaru stated. He had a loose definition of 'soon.' **"Time to rise and shine too. Or have you forgotten what day is today?" **Hitsugaya's sleepy brain had to think about it for a while.

"It's the first day of my leave," he answered.

"**Correct,"**Hyourinmaru nodded approvingly. **"And because a month isn't a long time, you shouldn't waste even a minute of it."**

"Can't I sleep for another hour?" Toushirou pleaded.

"**It isn't lik****e you to be so lazy, little one,"** the zanpakutou spirit chided.

"It isn't like you to be so impatient," Hitsugaya shot back.

"**I'm not impatient," **Hyourinmaru insisted. **"I'm merely aware of how precious little time we have. So get out of bed already so we can leave."**

"Alright," Hitsugaya sighed, throwing back the covers. "I'm getting up now. You don't have to prod me anymore."

"**Alright," **Hyourinmaru said before returning to Hitsugaya's inner world. Hitsugaya quickly ate breakfast, dressed and picked the bags he had packed the evening before. Then he headed out into the streets of Seireitei. At this hour it was quiet. Toushirou found it ominous. He had Danzoumaru open the gate for him just as the sun rose and then he headed into the vastness of Rukongai.

He traveled fast. He knew that he had to find a secluded spot for what he intended and he wasn't going to find one remote enough in whole Rukongai. He had to venture beyond the furthest district before he would be able to begin his training.

He switched between running and shunpo. He was covering the distance at a steady pace, only having to take a breather twice. Late in the afternoon he exited the 80th district of North Rukongai and entered the wilderness. He still didn't stop running. His destination was further ahead. He could already see it, the snow-covered mountain tops in the distance. He sped towards it, going through forests and grassy plains. He didn't dare to stop. This place was the sanctuary for people who couldn't fit even in the rowdiest of Rukongai districts and the occasional Hollows. It wasn't patrolled regularly, so they could dwell undisturbed here. If there gathered too many of them, the Gotei 13 sent several squads to clean it up. Last time it happened was just a couple of weeks ago, so the area should be relatively safe. But he couldn't count on it.

Finally, when the sun was nearly touching the western horizon, he reached the mountains. He spotted a river flowing from between them and followed it upstream. As he ran, he looked for a convenient spot for his training. But nothing seemed right in the narrow ravine.

Then when the sun nearly settled, the mountains in front of him opened, revealing a wide valley with a flat bottom and a lake with clear bluish green water in the middle of it. Hitsugaya paused. The last rays of the sun glistered on the snow-capped peaks, giving them an otherworldly appearance. It reminded him of the mountains of his inner world. Yes, this place was perfect.

"_**I agree," **_Hyourinmaru spoke in his head. Hitsugaya smiled.

"_I'm glad you like it. I don't feel up__ to going any further."_

"_**Then you should rest and recover your ener**__**gy fast," **_the dragon suggested. _**"You're going to need it tomorrow."**_

"_I know," _Hitsugaya replied, beginning to make camp.

"_**And don't forget the barrier against Hollows," **_Hyourinmaru advised him. _**"It would be really embarrassing if you got eaten by one in your sleep."**_

.*****************************************************************************************.

The next morning, thick fog was covering the mountains. Hitsugaya liked it. The extra moisture would make using his techniques easier. He ate his breakfast quickly. He barely registered the taste of the food. He was too excited to begin his battle for Bankai.

He concentrated on his connection with his zanpakutou spirit. _"Are you ready?" _he asked.

"_**Whenever you are, child,"**_ Hyourinmaru answered.

"_Then let's begin."_

"_**Let's begin."**_

Hitsugaya pushed his reiryoku into his sword. Soon the great ice dragon materialized at his side, the giant snake-like body coiled on the stones, the wings spread and the head held high in preparation to move. Toushirou turned to face him, lifting his sword to fighting position. The dragon shifted slightly, preparing to strike.

Hitsugaya attacked first. He jumped forward, his sword held high, aiming at the dragon's head. The zanpakutou spirit breathed out a stream of icy air, knocking the shinigami away. The boy landed on his feet, swung his sword and sent an ice dragon flying at Hyourinmaru. The great dragon waved his wing lazily and the attack shattered and fell to the ground harmlessly. Hitsugaya grimaced and tried it again, with the same result.

"**Do you really think you can use my own power against me, child?"** Hyourinmaru asked.

"It was worth a try," Toushirou shrugged.

"**I disagree. It cost you more energy than it cost me."** Hitsugaya had to admit that it was probably true, but he didn't have a better idea. He decided to waste no more time and attacked again.

He darted forward, swinging his blade down to send another ice dragon flying at the materialized spirit. He didn't wait for Hyourinmaru's reaction and immediately shunpoed to his side, hoping to catch him unawares. It didn't work. The dragon moved with surprising swiftness and Hitsugaya had a split-second to avoid being bitten in half. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Hyourinmaru destroyed his earlier attack with a lazy swipe of his wing, like it wasn't worthy of his attention. The boy cursed inwardly. This was going to be an even harder fight than he had imagined. But he wasn't giving up. Not when he barely started. So what if the dragon was strong and fast and the ice attacks didn't work? He had more weapons in his arsenal.

He spun his zanpakutou for a moment, then extended his hand and called: "Hadou #58: Tenran!" A blast of sharply spinning air charged with cutting reiryoku darted towards the dragon. Hyourinmaru didn't show the slightest sign of alarm. He swung both his wings and breathed ice towards the oncoming spell. The ice of his defense froze the attack, dissipating it harmlessly.

"**Such attacks won't do it, child," **the spirit informed him calmly.

"Then it's a good think it isn't all I can do," the boy retorted.

"**I know,"** Hyourinmaru nodded. **"Bring it on."**

"You asked for it." Hitsugaya tightened his grip on his sword and dashed in for an attack. Hyourinmaru blocked easily. Hitsugaya tried to attack again, but was forced to dodge the dragon's counterattack. They continued to exchange blows for a while, most of the time Hitsugaya barely avoiding serious injury without even landing a hit. He had the sinking feeling that the dragon was only playing with him. For a moment, doubt filled him. Was it really wise to fight for Bankai now? Maybe he should have waited a few years. He shook his head resolutely. No, he couldn't afford to procrastinate. His reiryoku was growing and his control of it slipping. In a few years... who knew how bad would it get? He had no desire to find out. He needed Bankai to gain a higher level of control and he needed it soon. And so far he was doing well. He had learned materialization in only three years, when the common wisdom says it takes at least ten. Now the only thing that remained was to defeat his zanpakutou spirit, and he was going to do it, despite the dragon looking like he could crush him with one blow. He had to have some weakness, it was only a matter of discovering it. And staying alive long enough to make use of it.

Hitsugaya was snapped from his reverie by Hyourinmaru's teeth grazing his shoulder. He hissed in pain. It hurt and it was merely the skin getting torn, but the icy power of Hyourinmaru nearly made his arm useless. The boy didn't want to think of what would have happened had the wound been deeper. He dodged another attack, putting distance between himself and Hyourinmaru, trying to move his arm experimentally and make his shoulder stop feeling like a lump of ice.

"**Don't tell me you're running already,"** the dragon taunted.

"Not a chance," the boy snapped back. His shoulder was beginning to feel like a shoulder again, though it began to hurt. But pain he could deal with. His years of training saw to it, especially the times spend in the Eleventh and the Second. He stood straighter, watching the dragon, waiting for it to make a move. And whispering an incantation. Hyourinmaru saw it and attacked. Hitsugaya shunpoed away, never breaking his chant. Hyourinmaru attacked again, but this time Hitsugaya was prepared. "Hadou #63: Raikouhou!" A ball of yellow energy appeared in his palm, shooting a beam of destructive power towards the dragon. Hyourinmaru didn't seem the bit disturbed. He breathed the freezing air again. The kidou started freezing at edges, but the power behind a spell of this level cast with full incantation was such that it couldn't be stopped so easily. The zanpakutou spirit realized it too. He swung its wing with lightning speed, blocking the spell in its tracks. There was an explosion of yellow energy, bright enough to nearly blind Hitsugaya. Despite not being able to see properly, he attacked. He figured that Hyourinmaru would be equally distracted. He assumed wrong. Before his wild sword swing could connect with anything, he was blindsided by Hyourinmaru's snout and sent flying. As he landed on the cold, hard stones, he could finally see the result of his spell. The scales on Hyourinmaru's wing were cracked, but they were regenerating quickly.

Toushirou frowned. If such high-level attack had so little effect, was it worth to try another Kidou? He knew some more powerful Hadou, but not much and not too well. His fighting style didn't use attack spells often, almost never, so he didn't put much effort into studying them, especially when there was always something more important to learn. Using another Hadou would be just a waste of reiatsu. But maybe Bakudou could do the trick. He was much better with that than with Hadou. If he could hold the dragon in place for a moment, he could cut him with his sword. Yes, that sounded like a plan.

A shadow suddenly falling over him interrupted his strategy session. Only a quick shunpo saved him from being crushed by Hyourinmaru. He then shunpoed again, appearing at the dragon's side. Hyourinmaru tried to smash him with his wing, but Hitsugaya blocked with his sword. "Rikujoukourou!" he cried. Six pillars of light slammed into the dragon's body, immobilizing it immediately. Ice appeared on the pillars, threatening to freeze and break them any moment. "Bakudou #63: Sajo Sabaku!" Hitsugaya called. Thick yellow glowing chains of energy appeared, entangling the zanpakutou spirit. The six lightning rods broke, but the chains held fast. But ice was appearing on them too.

"Walls of iron sand, a priestly pagoda, glowing ironclad fireflies. Standing upright, silent to the end. Bakudou #75: Gochuutekkan!" Five connected pillars of iron slammed into the dragon, pushing him to the ground. It wasn't a second too soon. Hyourinmaru was almost done breaking through the Sajo Sabaku. But now he was held down by a high level Bakudou cast with full incantation. That should hold him down for a while.

Hitsugaya grabbed his sword in both hands and jumped on Hyourinmaru's back. The dragon was struggling, using his reiatsu to freeze the Bakudou and push the shinigami off his back. Hitsugaya poised his blade over his head, intending to swing down with all his might. But a sudden movement made him change his plans. He dodged just in time to avoid being bitten in half. He swore aloud when he realized what happened. Hyourinmaru's head wasn't bound! And his tail wasn't either. The dragon could still attack and attack he did. Toushirou had to hastily shunpo to avoid a blast of ice heading his way.

He shot a look towards the iron pillars holding the dragon down. They were completely covered in ice now. He swore again. Hyourinmaru was very close to freeing himself. Hitsugaya had to act quickly if he wanted to capitalize on his current advantage. He pretended he wanted to attack the base of Hyourinmaru's neck and when the dragon turned his head to bat him down, he shunpoed to the ground. Now he stood right under Hyourinmaru's throat and the dragon couldn't see him, his vision being obscured by his own body. And as a bonus, Hitsugaya had now a clean shot at the underside of his throat, where the scales were smaller and presumably easier to cut through. With a mighty roar, he leapt at his target, pushing as much power into his attack as he could muster. Halfway there, he heard a loud crack. Before his mind could process what it meant, Hyourinmaru moved. Hitsugaya's attack only nicked him, leaving a shallow gash at the side of his neck.

_The ice pillars must have broken, _was Hitsugaya's last thought before a wing slammed into him, sending him hurling into the ground. He tried to cushion his fall the best he could, but he couldn't block the stream of ice Hyourinmaru sent at him. He crushed into the ground, the ice enveloping him, preventing him from getting up. Hyourinmaru appeared above him.

"**Good attempt,"** he praised, **"but if you think you can get me with an attack of that level, think again."**

Hitsugaya was too busy thinking about ways that could free him from the icy prison. The ice enveloped him so completely he couldn't move. Only his head remained free. He tried to will it to shatter, but Hyourinmaru's power held it together firmly.

"**What are you lazing there for?"** the zanpakutou spirit asked. **"Get up and fight. Or are you unable to? Because if you cannot even break out of this, how do you think you can achieve Bankai?"**

At the moment, Toushirou was wondering too. He had no idea Hyourinmaru could be so powerful. He had fought the dragon before, in his inner world, but the zanpakutou spirit never displayed this level of prowess. Hitsugaya had known he'd been holding back, but up until now he had no idea how much. And he had the sinking feeling that Hyourinmaru still wasn't fighting at his full strength. But that wasn't important right now. The first order of business was getting out of the ice.

But what could he do? He couldn't move and he couldn't simply overpower Hyourinmaru. Maybe he could try kidou, but what if the ice reflected the spell right back at him? Would it fry his fingers? Maybe Hadou #1: Shou might do the trick and if not, it would merely break all the bones in his hand. But as he saw Hyourinmaru looming over him, looking like he was about to attack and didn't care whether Toushirou could move or not, he decided to take the chance.

"Hadou #1: Shou!" he called. The ice around his right hand cracked slightly. And the spell didn't rebound into his hand. Good. "Shou!" Hitsugaya cried again. More cracks appeared. "Shou! Shou! Shou! Shou!" he repeated until his right hand was free.

"**That's more like it," **Hyourinmaru commented. **"But you'll have to try harder." **He leant closer, preparing to launch another wave of ice on the trapped boy. Hitsugaya grabbed the hilt of his zanpakutou and slammed it to the ice encasing him. It took several hits, but eventually he was freed again. The moment he tried to get up, Hyourinmaru attacked again. Hitsugaya would swear that he had been waiting for just that moment. He frantically scrambled out of the way of another ice blast. He made it in the nick of time.

"**Running again? What did I tell you about it?" **Hyourinmaru scolded him. Hitsugaya grimaced. He gripped his sword with both hands. He dodged the next ice blast and charged. In the next instant he was sailing through the air, his side hurting. He didn't even see what had happened to him. Only in hindsight he realized that Hyourinmaru had hit him with his wing. He rolled on the ground and climbed to his feet with some difficulty. And Hyourinmaru was upon him again.

They fought like that for another hour. Hitsugaya was frantically blocking Hyourinmaru's attacks and sometimes tried to get through an attack of his own. Even on the rare occasions when he succeeded, they had no effect. He was becoming desperate. Everything hurt and he was barely able to lift his sword. He could see that he was hopelessly outclassed. Then he noticed Hyourinmaru fading. So he wasn't able to keep him materialized anymore. Great. With a sigh, he cut off the flow of power into his sword. Hyourinmaru's form disappeared completely.

Hitsugaya collapsed to the ground. His legs lacked the strength to support his weight. He lay in the snow, breathing heavily. He was thoroughly unhappy with his performance. He hadn't expected to succeed on the very first try, but he had hoped he would do better. This way it looked like he would never make it.

"_**Don't feel down, child,"**_ Hyourinmaru spoke in his mind. _**"Doubt would only blunt your blade."**_

"_I know," _Toushirou replied. _"But I feel like I have no chance anyway. Like I tried this too soon and that I would have to train for years before I'll have the chance."_

"_**What did I just tell you about doubt?"**_ Hyourinmaru scolded. _**"You already got this far. Do you want to back out now?"**_

"_No," _Hitsugaya shook his head, remembering the frost covering his room every morning. Even when he wasn't asleep, it was becoming increasingly difficult to control his reiatsu. _"I have to do it."_

"_**So you see**__**," **_the dragon said smugly._**"Don't whine and do it."**_

"_I don't whine!"_ the boy protested.

"_**Sure you do, little one."**_ Toushirou pouted. _**"And now, stop pouting and pull yourself together. We'll try again in the afternoon. We don't have forever for this, you know?"**_

Hitsugaya nodded. He knew very well that his time for this was limited. If he didn't make it during his one-month leave, when would he have the next chance to try? But as he was trying to gather enough reiryoku for a healing kidou, he doubted he would be able to fight again so soon.

.*****************************************************************************************.

To his utter amazement, he was able to try again in the afternoon. But completely unsurprisingly, the fight was just as one-sided and didn't last as long as the previous one. As soon as Hitsugaya was able to get up, he wolfed down the dinner and fell asleep in his tent. The next morning he materialized Hyourinmaru again and battled him. And once again the dragon toyed with him before defeating him soundly. That repeated in the afternoon. It became a routine for them.

"I feel I'll never do it," Hitsugaya said dejectedly as he lay down to sleep one evening a little over a week into the training.

"_**Remember what I told you: if you start doubting yourself, you won't make **__**it,"**_ Hyourinmaru reminded him.

"_I remember,__" _Hitsugaya sighed, _"but that doesn't change the fact that I can't even touch you."_

"_**Don't sell yourself short,"**_the zanpakutou spirit tried to cheer him up. _**"You're improving."**_

"_It doesn't feel like it,__"_ the white-haired boy muttered.

"_**But it's the truth,"**_Hyourinmaru insisted._**"You don't see it only because you can't measure your skills against someone else."**_

"_If you say so," _Hitsugaya shrugged.

"_**I say so."**_

"_Than we'll continue."_

And so they did. They fought at least twice or three times every day. Hitsugaya tried every trick in his arsenal to get at the ice dragon's skin. Slowly but surely he was improving. Another week later, Hitsugaya could sometimes land a hit on Hyourinmaru without feeling like the dragon let him. But the zanpakutou spirit was still thrashing him soundly. He was gaining more abilities, but he was also getting progressively more beaten and tired. And his food stocks were thinning rapidly. He had thought he had more than enough, but he exerted so much energy he barely managed to replenish it. There was no way his food would last for the rest of the month and he doubted he'd be finished earlier. Sometimes, he wondered whether a year would have been enough. When he wasn't fighting, he tried gathering fruit under the mountains, but it took too much time from his training schedule, so he stopped it. He began rationing his food instead. It made him constantly hungry. It was a feeling he had nearly forgotten in the time since he had left Rukongai. It brought back unpleasant memories. It was something else to disturb his sleep aside form the thought of failure. He wasn't sure whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that he was too tired to wake up from his nightmares.

And so the month progressed. Hitsugaya improved, but he also felt that he wouldn't be able to take the strain for much longer. He also saw that it was improbable that he would succeed anytime soon. Yet he took Hyourinmaru's advice to heart. He'd make it. Anything else wasn't an option.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Today was the last day. In the evening, he would have to head back to Seireitei or face the punishment for being late for duty, maybe even deserting his post, depending on how angry his superiors were going to be. Considering how many disciplinary infractions he already had on his record, he was wary of adding a new one. Though Kyouraku-taichou was likely to be lenient, Ise-fukutaichou wasn't and she'd be probably the one deciding it, considering the captain was usually drunk. He would have to do it today and still be in the shape to run back. It seemed like an impossible feat, but he felt like he could do it. He had been so close yesterday! Well, if he was honest with himself, he hadn't been really close, but that wasn't the matter. Today was the last opportunity in a long time and he wasn't going to let it slip.

"Well, there's no reason to waste any more time," he said. It didn't matter that the sun hadn't risen yet, there was enough light already. The fact that he didn't have his breakfast yet was a bit more concerning, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. He had eaten the last of his stock yesterday and trying to find some food in this wilderness would cost him too much of his precious time. Still he couldn't help but feel that he was going to regret not having the bit of extra energy.

He shook off his covers, dressed in his shihakushou and unsheathed his sword.

"Let's get started," he stated willing his zanpakutou spirit to materialize. Soon the ice dragon stood on the ground next to him. The previously clear sky above the mountains was covered in heavy clouds.

"**So you still don't have enough?" **Hyourinmaru asked.

"Of course not," Hitsugaya replied. "I'm never going to give up."

"**Well," **the dragon shrugged, **"You brought this on yourself."** And then he lunged and Toushirou had barely enough time to duck. Snow began falling from the sky, piling atop the layers remaining from yesterday and the month before that. The battle was underway.

It began very much like all the previous ones had. Hyourinmaru attacked mercilessly and Hitsugaya had to use all his abilities not to get ripped to pieces within the first minute. Then he managed to confuse the dragon with a quick series of shunpo and he managed to attack him from a blind spot. Hyourinmaru noticed the ice projectile heading for his neck at the right moment and dodged just enough for the attack to slide along his scales without doing any damage.

"**You should already know ice won't work against me, child," **the zanpakutou spirit shouted tauntingly.

"I do," replied Hitsugaya from much closer than Hyourinmaru thought he would be. He realized that his wielder used the attack as a decoy to get closer to him undetected. But by that time it was too late to do anything about it. Toushirou's sword was already digging between the scales on his back. It wasn't a serious wound, but it grazed one of the muscles moving his wings, so it was going to be painful. Hyourinmaru roared in anger and raised his reiatsu. Then he lashed at the boy at his back, trying to bite him in two.

Hitsugaya tried to pull his sword out, but quickly realized it was stuck. Hyourinmaru had enveloped it in a layer of ice that wasn't about to give way. Toushirou was forced to let go of the hilt and flash step away before the two rows of long and sharp teeth closed around him.

"**You lost your weapon, boy," **the dragon announced needlessly. **"Won't you just give up? You stand no chance against me now." **A part of Hitsugaya wanted to agree, there was no way he could touch the spirit now when he barely could while armed, that there were going to be other opportunities, but something in him just refused to admit defeat. And he also felt like this was the last chance for him. He couldn't put the exact reason into words, but something told him that if he didn't manage now, he never would, no matter how many times he would try.

"No," he said with conviction, "I'm not giving up. I am going to defeat you now."

"**As you wish, little one,"** Hyourinmaru shrugged. **"But you have only yourself to blame for what is going to happen next. I'm not going to go easy on you just because you are weaponless now."**

"I wouldn't want you to," Hitsugaya responded. He was already running through possible strategies in his mind. Weaponless wasn't the same as defenseless and he was going to teach the dragon as much.

Hyourinmaru attacked first. Hitsugaya shunpoed away, trying to create distance between them.

"Hadou #31: Shakkahou," he shouted shooting a jet of red light at the dragon. Hyourinmaru let out an icy breath and the Kidou froze mid flight, shattering into a thousand pieces.

"**Foolish child. I thought you already learned this wasn't going to work either." **The zanpakutou spirit than created four of his signature shikai attacks and sent them flying after Toushirou. The boy dodged and weaved between them, but they managed to keep on his tail. Eventually he managed to make two of them crash into each other when they attempted to squeeze him between them and he flashed away at the last possible moment. It cost him a sleeve, but he felt it was worth it. It was much easier to keep avoiding just two of them. It gave him enough time to whisper an incantation.

"Bakudou #63: Sajo Sabaku." Golden chains wrapped around one of the dragons, making it lose direction and crash into the mountainside. That left only one but even that was enough, because it took full advantage of Hitsugaya's distraction and slammed into his side. The boy had his breath knocked out of him, but he quickly managed to shunpo away, preventing more serious injuries. Still he thought some of his ribs were cracked.

"**Now you're swordless and injured," **Hyourinmaru informed him from his perch a bit above Hitsugaya. The boy blinked in surprise. When did the dragon get there?** "Do you still want to fight on? Because your strategy isn't going to work. You were trying to lead me away from the water, but now I'm going to herd you right back. You have your last chance to give up, because if you don't I am going to kill you." **It was a very tempting offer, Hitsugaya had to admit, but he didn't give in. The feeling that this was his very last chance lingered. He eyed the sword still lodged in the dragon's back longingly, If he could just get it back...

"**I take it you aren't going to yield," **Hyourinmaru spoke. Hitsugaya shook his head. **"Then let's go."**

The dragon sprang forward so fast Hitsugaya would swear he was using shunpo. He tried to flash step away, but he was slower than usual. The wound must have been hindering him more than he thought. One of Hyourinmaru's wings hit him before he could get out of range. His already abused ribs suffered another hit and he was sent flying. He rolled to soften his landing, but it did him little good on the stony ground. He was sure he was going to be completely blue tomorrow. But he had no time to dwell on such things. Hyourinmaru was attacking again. Toushirou rolled on the ground to avoid the snapping jaws. He immediately had to roll again to escape being sat on. He tried to jump away, but he was hit by one wing and slammed back down mercilessly. He felt tears rushing into his eyes, but he couldn't give into them. He was in a precarious situation and he didn't doubt that Hyourinmaru would indeed kill him if he failed. And it seemed like a likely prospect now.

Hitsugaya rolled on his back. He lifted his hands in the air. "Raikouhou!" he cried. A beam of yellow energy shot from his palm, hitting the dragon's belly point blank. Hyourinmaru had no time to dodge or freeze the attack. A small part of the spell slid on his scales, but most exploded just like Hitsugaya intended. The explosion was enough to break through the icy skin. Hyourinmaru roared in pain and shock and backed off. Toushirou capitalized on the brief reprieve and jumped to his feet. The zanpakutou spirit was examining his wound it disbelief. For a moment, he wasn't watching Toushirou. And that was all the boy needed.

A quick shunpo transported him to his sword. He grabbed the pale bluish-purple hilt and pulled with all his might. Nothing. The blade was still stuck. And Hyourinmaru noticed him. The dragon was looking at him with murder in his eyes. Hitsugaya knew that he had barely a fraction of a second to get away, that he should just drop his sword and try his luck with Kidou again, but he refused to let go. He felt like letting go of his zanpakutou now would mean never being able to wield it again. It was completely illogical, but at the moment it made perfect sense to him.

Hitsugaya reached into his deepest reserves, trying to find some more reiryoku he could use to free his weapon. Hyourinmaru lunged. Hitsugaya dropped down, so he won't be swallowed whole. Hyourinmaru's lower jaw slammed into him full force. He felt himself being thrown into the air. He refused to let go of the hilt. There was a clinging sound and something gave way. It took him a moment to realize that his zanpakutou broke. He sailed through the ground, landing painfully on a large rock. He looked down to find out how much was left of his weapon. It wasn't much. Less than a fourth of the blade was left.

He noticed a shadow nearing him. He had just enough time to turn his head in the right direction before Hyourinmaru was on him. He tried to duck out of the way, but his body refused to obey him. Instead a sharp pain shot through him, making him gasp. He felt giant jaws closing on him. They were almost touching him now, giving him nowhere to go. The long, sharp teeth were about to pierce him through. There was only one direction open. It was completely crazy, but he had run out of sane options. He braced himself for the pain and jumped forward, straight into the dragon's mouth.

The jaws were closing, but the teeth were now behind him, unable to harm him. Now Hyourinmaru could only swallow him whole or freeze him with his ice breath. Hitsugaya had to act fast. He swung the broken stump of his weapon. It made his whole body wail in agony, but he felt detached, as if the pain was happening to someone else.

The jaws came closer to each other, nearly cutting off the light. Hitsugaya pushed at the lower jaw, putting more force behind his swing. The broken tip of the blade connected with Hyourinmaru's palate and pierced through. Almost too easily, Hitsugaya thought. But it wasn't that strange, the inside of the dragon's mouth wasn't covered in sturdy scales.

Hitsugaya pushed the sword stump in up to its hilt. He wasn't sure whether the broken blade was long enough to hit anything vital, but he couldn't switch to another plan now. Hyourinmaru's jaws had slammed together and he was trapped. He channeled all of his remaining reiryoku into the weapon, willing the blade to grow, to pierce through the dragon's brain. He envisioned the ice spreading from the sword, freezing everything around and then shattering it with a swing. A traitorous part of his brain asked him how he intended to freeze ice, but he showed the thought aside. He had to win and this was his last shot at it. He concentrated his whole being on overpowering Hyourinmaru.

Then he felt freezing winds around his body. He could feel ice materializing around his body, starting at his back. No! That couldn't be happening! He couldn't be losing! He roared. He pushed with all his might, somehow managing to scrape some more power from the bottom of his reserves. He let it all fly forward in one powerful blast. He didn't bother with giving it the shape and form of Kidou or an ice attack. It was just sheer power flying forward, destroying everything that stood in its path.

Cracks appeared in Hyourinmaru's head and then it slowly fell apart. The brightness of the outside world blinded Toushirou for a while, even though the clouds and the snow were blocking most of the sunlight. But the ice enveloping his body didn't disappear.

_What's that?_ he thought. _Did I..._

"_**You did it, master,"**_ Hyourinmaru's voice sounded in his head. Hitsugaya paused at the address. Hyourinmaru had never called him 'master' before. _**"You can spread your wings now."**_

_Wings? _Yes, that's what the ice on his back was. A pair of wings. And a long tail, if he saw it correctly. And there was ice forming armor around his right arm, which held the elegant, unbroken blade of Hyourinmaru. He did it. He laughed. Then he realized he was falling. That wasn't good. But he had wings. He should be able to fly. But how?

"_**It**__**'s easy. Just spread your wings,"**_ Hyourinmaru explained with a hint of amusement in his voice.

So Hitsugaya did just that. He thought about the wings moving and they responded in kind. His fall was stopped. He flapped his wings and he even rose higher in the air. He laughed again. Flying was amazing.

"_It's wonderful, Hyourinmaru."_

"_**That it is," **_the dragon agreed. _**"And remember: it's Daiguren Hyourinmaru."**_

Hitsugaya nodded, committing the spirit's words into memory. Then he concentrated on the joy of his new Bankai again. He swung his sword in the air and an ice dragon with wings materialized over it, flying forward with much more speed and strength than his shikai attack. He watched it crash in the ground below and create a huge crater. Now that was some power! With it, he could...

His train of thoughts was interrupted by a breaking sound. _What was that? _he thought in panic. Then the weight of his exhaustion and injuries suddenly slammed into him and he could feel his wings breaking apart. _What's going on?_

"_**Your body cannot withstand the power of your Bankai any longer, master," **_Hyourinmaru explained. Toushirou nodded. It made sense. All the books had warned him about the extreme strain the Bankai puts on the shinigami's body. He just didn't imagine it was going to be that severe. He saw that he was falling, but he was too tired to care. He saw that the snowing had stopped and the clouds were breaking apart. Then the morning sun broke through them, lighting the snow-clad peaks in its golden glow. The whole mountain range seemed to come alive with the glittering. It hurt his eyes, but he thought he had never seen anything more beautiful, despite it coming closer at incredible speeds. Then the exhaustion finally overcame him and his world disappeared in the darkness. When his body hit the snow, he didn't even feel it.


	14. Going forward

**Author's note:** Good news: all long overdue artwork is finally online. If your read the ANs so far, you know where to find it. Not so good news: I don't know when I'll complete the next chapter. I reached a bit difficult spot in the story, where I don't know how to divide it into chapters, how many chapters I should divide it into and which scenes should come where. Up to now, it has been easy to decide when a chapter should end, there has been always some milestone in Hitsugaya's life. But now there's a long time without any milestones, so I'm a bit confused. I'll probably won't be able to divide the next part of the story into chapters properly until it's all written, which means about three chapters worth of text. But on better note, once I'm done, the updates should be fast once again.

Enough rambling, now on to the story.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**On the Frozen Plain**** – Going forward**

.*****************************************************************************************.

Everything around him was white and soft. Whatever he was lying on was fluffy and comfortable. He felt like he was floating on a cloud. He felt so comfortable he didn't want to move from his spot, ever. But something was telling him that he should. He ignored the voice. He felt lazy and didn't want to obey anyone. But the voice insisted. He tried to ignore it some more, but it was getting steadily louder. Finally he couldn't ignore it anymore. He opened his eyes.

Bright daylight multiplied by reflecting on glittering snowy surfaces blinded his eyes. At the same time, the sensations from his body reached his brain. He wailed in agony. Absolutely everything hurt. His memories slowly informed him just why he was lying wounded in the snow in the middle of mountains that were so far beyond Rukongai they didn't even have a name, because no-one ever bothered to come here and name them. But what was the voice that had woken him up and why it was bothering him?

"_**Master!"**_

"_Hyourinmaru?" _Hitsugaya was taken aback by the urgency in his zanpakutou's voice.

"_**Finally awake!" **_the sword exclaimed. _**"Now get up and deal with that Hollow. It would be really ironic if you achieved Bankai just to get eaten in your sleep by such a small fry."**_

_Hollow?_ Hitsugaya thought. Oh, now that he concentrated, he could feel its putrid reiatsu. Now where was it? A shadow fell over him. Ah right here. Good. At least he wouldn't have to move from his spot to deal with it. He raised his hand and pointed it at the Hollow's mask.

"Hadou #33: Soukatsui." Blue flames shot from his fingers, hitting the Hollow's mask from point blank. It disintegrated into spirit particles. Hitsugaya's arm dropped back down. He felt like it was on fire. That hadn't happened to him after casting Kidou ever since his first Academy practice. So why now? Oh yes, that book about Bankai warned about it. The power of a Bankai was so strong that it could damage the body of the wielder, especially if he wasn't used to it.

"_Now, all done. Can I go to sleep now?"_ he asked tiredly, his eyes already drooping. The mid-level Hadou had sucked dry all the energy he had recovered during his sleep. He had misjudged just how exhausted he was and now he was paying for it. He should have tried a spell in the twenties or maybe just tens, it should have been enough to purify a Hollow of this level. Even simple Byakurai should have done the job.

"_**No,"**_Hyourinmaru said resolutely. _**"There will be more coming. And they won't wait for your convenience before attacking. You have to get up and get out of here. If one of them got you, well, I wouldn't survive the shame." **_Hitsugaya couldn't help but chuckle at his zanpakutou's humor. He immediately regretted it, because it sent a new jolt of pain through his ribs. He must have cracked some of them when he fell from the sky. He didn't remember that many of them hurting during the fight. He had to wait until he could breathe again. Then he slowly rose to his feet. He felt so weak. His head was swimming. His legs felt like they were going to give out any moment. But he gritted his teeth and forced himself to walk. He didn't bother with packing, only picking up his sword. The food had run out and there wasn't anything else he couldn't do without. He concentrated on suppressing his reiatsu. It was too easy today. It drove home the point of just how little reiryoku he had left. He probably wouldn't be able to fire another Kidou if he ran into any more Hollows. Stealth was the only way to survive for him now.

He dragged his feet through the snow, stopping every few minutes. He wondered just how much damage he had taken when even walking was such a strain. He considered using healing Kidou on himself, but he didn't want to waste what little reiryoku he had left. He made it barely a mile out of the valley before his legs gave out and he collapsed on the rocks, falling asleep again shortly thereafter.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The next time he woke up the sun was setting and his stomach was rumbling. He sat up and searched his surroundings for something to quench his hunger. Nothing remotely edible was in sight in the mountains. Only some brightly-colored lichen, but it looked like it might be poisonous. Hitsugaya didn't want to take the chance in his current state. He only drank from the stream to silence his stomach's loudest protests and began walking. It was easier, because the pain seemed to have receded a bit, a very little and insignificant bit, he corrected after the first hundred steps, but he felt even weaker than in the morning. He had to eat soon to replenish his reiatsu or he might not be able to get up again. He thought he had some time left before it came to that, but he didn't want to test just how much. Yet he couldn't do anything else but walk forward and hope he would reach the lowlands soon enough. Therefore he somehow managed to keep walking until midnight. When he settled for sleep again, it was already in the forest below the nameless mountain range.

When he woke up the next morning, he was lucky to find some berries nearby. He recognized them as an edible kind and wolfed them down leaves, branches and all. After days without food he didn't care about such minuscule details. The breakfast made him feel much better and he found that he had much less trouble walking. He even dared to try running for a while. He stopped whenever he saw anything that remotely resembled food. The much needed sustenance helped to restore his energy enough that he managed to cross the wilderness before the evening fell. By that time, he was too tired to continue again, so he settled down to sleep on a soft grassy patch below a giant oak tree. It occurred to him that he had been supposed to report to duty that morning and he was already running late. But there was no way he was getting any further today. Hopefully his superiors wouldn't be too harsh on him. He just would have to come up with an excuse good enough. But it would have to wait for tomorrow. Today he was just too tired.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He was awoken by the sound of footsteps and people speaking. It sounded like there were lots of them and he didn't recognize any. Just what was going on? And then he remembered. He had fallen asleep on the outskirts of the Zaraki district. Whoever the people around him were, they were probably bad news.

He opened his eyes a tiny fraction, trying to see what was going on. He saw around a dozen pairs of bare feet approaching him. He concentrated on listening to their owners' talk.

"I still don't like it, Hayate. He's a shinigami," one of them said.

"So? Don't tell me you actually like the pompous douchebags, Ninjin," Another, presumably Hayate, answered.

"Don't call me that!" Ninjin scowled. "You know I hate it! And I don't like the arrogant assholes any more than you do. I'm just worried what would happen if he woke up."

"Then don't shout if you're so worried," a third voice, this one female, joined. "Your shouting would wake the dead. Oh, maybe that wasn't the smartest choice of words."

"Only you can worry about something like that, Kyoukou," Hayate replied.

"You and your stupid nicknames," she muttered. "I am Kyouko, not Kyoukou, is it so hard to remember?"

"Kyouko, Kyoukou," Hayate shrugged, "what's the difference?" Hitsugaya couldn't see it from his point, but he could just feel her glaring daggers at him.

"We should kill him before he wakes," a fourth voice suggested.

"Yes," a fifth added. "And search him for money."

"Quiet down," Kyouko admonished them. "Do you really want him to wake up?"

"What would it matter?" another voice sounded. "He's just a little kid. And he looks half-dead. What can he possibly do?" Hitsugaya had a hard time keeping his face impassive. There was a lot he could do. Bankai, for example. Though in his current weakened state he would have to limit himself to some sword swinging and maybe one or two weak Kidou.

"And don't forget to leave his food to me. I'm hungry." Hungry? Alarms sounded in Hitsugaya's head. Did that man have reiryoku? Now that he concentrated on his spiritual sense, yes, he did. And not a weak one. Toushirou didn't understand how he could have missed it before. It must have been the exhaustion. Even after two days, he still felt as weak as a newborn kitten.

"You and your hunger, Sukihara," Hayate muttered. "Don't you ever think about anything but food?"

"I can't help it, I'm just always hungry," Sukihara shrugged.

"Well, you'll have to go hungry for a little longer," Hitsugaya informed him sitting up. "I don't have any food on me."

"It spoke!" Hayate shouted.

"I told you so!" Kyouko exclaimed.

"And you suppose I'm going to believe it?" Sukihara asked intimidatingly. And intimidating came naturally to him, with his tall, broad and muscular form and scarred ugly face.

"Believe whatever you want," Hitsugaya shrugged, "you aren't getting anything to eat today." He grabbed the hilt of his zanpakutou and stood up. He had to lean on the tree, because his head swam. He cursed inwardly. He thought he had recovered more than this.

"Do you want to fight, little one?" Sukihara bared his teeth in a bloodthirsty grin. It reminded Toushirou of Kenpachi, only more deranged. He wondered whether the two knew each other. This was the Zaraki district after all. But then he concluded that they probably didn't. Only one of them would have been able to walk away alive from their meeting.

He was brought from his musings abruptly when the man pulled out a sword. Hitsugaya observed the jagged blade and was once again struck with the sense of familiarity. Sukihara was really too much like Kenpachi. Toushirou prepared himself for the inevitable fight. It occurred to him that he might try running instead, but he didn't think he could shunpo far and fast enough to completely lose them. Better to deal with them without wasting any more of his precious strength.

He assessed his opponent. He obviously had a lot of physical strength, but was probably slow. Though he couldn't count on it, appearances were sometimes deceiving. He had capitalized on the fact more than once. He had spiritual power. It was enough for a lower seated officer, but how good he was at using it? Hitsugaya didn't have a clue. He had a sword. Was it an asauchi? A piece of scrap metal? A real zanpakutou? Hopefully not. Though even an asauchi could be deadly in the hands of a master, as Captain Zaraki had demonstrated countless times.

Sukihara attacked without preamble. His jagged blade headed straight for Hitsugaya's neck. The boy blocked with Hyourinmaru. He had to grit his teeth under the force of the blow. Was he that weak or the thug that strong? It didn't matter. What mattered was that he had run into an enemy who would give him a lot of trouble in a kenjutsu match. Fortunately for him he wasn't restricted just to kenjutsu. He pointed his left hand at Sukihara's chest.

"Sai," he whispered. Sukihara's hands let go of his sword and moved to join each other behind his back, in a rather uncomfortable position. Even his legs twisted unnaturally and refused to hold his weight anymore. The huge man fell to the ground, bumping into Toushirou on the way down. Toushirou suppressed a hiss. Not only was Sukihara heavier than he looked, his whole arm burned from just casting the weakest Kidou. The damage from unleashing Bankai was still lingering. It looked like it wouldn't leave anytime soon.

"What have you done?" Sukihara screamed, frantically trying to free himself. Hitsugaya didn't answer. He instead looked at the crowd with the most confident and condescending look he could muster.

"Anyone else wants to fight?" he asked in an icy tone. The thugs looked at each other and shifted uneasily. On one hand, they wanted to beat the crap out of him and rob him of whatever possessions he might have, on the other they were wary to pick a fight with a superior opponent.

There was a sudden spike of reiatsu and a sound of movement on the ground. Hitsugaya glanced down and saw Sukihara getting to his feet. _He broke out of the Bakudou! _Toushirou realized in alarm. _Well, it was the weakest one, but still. He's stronger than I gave him credit for. If I was at half my strength, he wouldn't be a problem, but now? Everything still hurts._

"I'm not finished with you yet, brat," Sukihara announced with murder in his eyes. Hitsugaya steeled himself for a tough battle.

It wasn't going to be tough only because the opponent might be stronger than him, but because he couldn't actually kill him. He had sworn to protect all the souls and that included even the worst gangsters from the Zaraki district. And fighting to disable was always harder than fighting to kill. It looked like he would have to take his chance with a stronger Bakudou and hope he would have enough power left to deal with the spiritually unaware thugs afterwards. And watch out for people trying to smash his head from behind. That was always a problem when facing multiple opponents. Maybe he should stay close to the oak for as long as he could.

Sukihara attacked. Once again his sword was swinging for Hitsugaya's head. _Does he open every fight the same way? _The young shinigami wondered. He blocked the strike with Hyourinmaru. He had a hunch that he was going to need both hands for this and he was right. The large thug was much stronger when he was mad.

"Disintegrate," Hitsugaya spoke slowly.

"What?" Sukihara spat.

"You black dog of Rondanini," the boy continued.

"Who are you calling a dog?" the thug roared.

"Look upon yourself with horror..."

"I'm not that ugly!" Sukihara attacked. Hitsugaya's strength was barely enough to stop the blow. But he was already halfway through the incantation. Just a little longer and it would be finished. It was pathetic that he had to use full incantation for such a weak spell, but he had to save every drop of reiryoku he had. And the incantation might also lessen the pain. Probably. He certainly hoped.

"...and tear out your own throat," he finished the spell. "Bakudou #9: Hourin!" He removed his right hand from Hyourinmaru's hilt and waved it in Sukihara's direction. Orange thread sprouted from his fingers, flying around the man and binding him securely. A moment later, he was lying on the ground, trying to get free and shouting death threats at the shinigami.

"Does anyone else want to try something stupid?" Hitsugaya asked trying to sound more confident than he felt. He certainly hoped they wouldn't. The exercise had aggravated all his wounds and he wasn't sure how long he would be able to remain standing. Fortunately the bandits, seeing the strongest of them fall for the second time in a short while, were reluctant to try anything brave.

"Good," Hitsugaya said before someone might change their mind. "I'll be taking my leave then." And he shunpoed away. He managed to perform three consecutive steps before he fell to his knees panting and sobbing. Both his legs and right arm felt like they were on fire. _I'm really pathetic,_ he thought. Fortunately he managed to get out of sight of the band. If they saw him in his current state, there would be nothing stopping them from tearing him apart. Speaking of which, nobody should see him like this. The first houses of the Zaraki district were visible behind the last line of trees. He should get going before he ended up as a mugged corpse in a ditch.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He somehow managed to get through the Zaraki district in one piece. Only now it was getting dark and he was standing at the edges of the Kusajishi district, which was just as bad. He sighed. He should rest for the night and continue in the morning. His stomach grumbled in protest. He was in grave need of some sustenance. Unfortunately the Zaraki district wasn't the place to get it. There weren't even the forest berries that had helped him yesterday. Whatever edible showed up in the 80th district, was immediately discovered and eaten by its hungry citizens. And the 79th district wasn't any better. And to top it, he was running really, really late for reporting for duty now and he still didn't come up with a plausible excuse.

Almost as soon as he thought about it, he heard a rustle of leaves and two masked members of Onmitsukidou appeared before him. That meant there were four more he couldn't see or feel. Oh, joy. Was Lieutenant Ise so desperate to see him again? Or did she already report him as a deserter? No, that couldn't be it. The Onmitsukidou didn't attack him on sight, so they must be giving him the benefit of doubt. But they were bound to have questions. What was he going to tell them? He wanted to keep his Bankai secret for a while.

"State your name and purpose," one of them barked. Oh? They weren't looking for him? That was good. That should make talking his way out easier.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou," he introduced himself. "Eighth Division, Tenth Seat. I'm on my way to Seireitei."

"What were you doing here?" the man demanded in the same unfriendly voice.

"I was on leave," the boy answered as calmly as he could muster.

"Here?" the Onmitsukidou member raised his eyebrow. Hitsugaya didn't blame him for being skeptical. Neither Zaraki nor Kusajishi were prime vacation spots.

"I was in the mountains beyond Rukongai," the boy elaborated.

"Why there?" the masked ninja questioned.

"I like mountains. And the solitude," Hitsugaya explained.

"Why are you in your current state?" the interrogation continued.

"I was attacked by a Hollow," Toushirou answered. "I managed to purify it, but I was wounded. And on my way back I ran into a local gang. One of them had reiryoku. Enough to be a seated officer."

"We have reports of a strong reiatsu surge from that area two days ago," the Onmitsukidou member said. "Did you notice anything?"

"You mean aside from my battle with the Hollow? No," Hitsugaya shook his head, making it spin again.

The interrogator looked at his partner. A silent message was passed between them.

"You'll come with us," the masked man said. Hitsugaya nodded. The man grabbed his hand and told him to follow along in shunpo. Hitsugaya fainted after the first step.

.*****************************************************************************************.

When he woke up, he immediately knew he was in the Fourth Division. He decided it was a good sign. If he were charged with desertion, he would have been stuck inside a cell now. He tried to move experimentally. There was still some residual pain, but it wasn't as bad as it used to be. He also felt stronger, though he knew he wasn't up to any strenuous activity yet.

A healer Hitsugaya didn't recognize peeked in the door and when she saw that the patient was awake, she ran a few basic tests on him before leaving to inform the authorities that he had woken up. Not long after that two masked Onmitsukidou ninja appeared. Hitsugaya could tell that they weren't the same as the ones he met at the outskirts of Kusajishi district. They immediately began interrogating him. He still had no time to come up with a believable story, but they had undoubtedly read the report of their colleagues, so he should just stick to what he had said to them. He had been on vacation. He was attacked by a Hollow and injured while purifying it. Then on the way home he had been attacked by a spiritually strong mugger and injured further. That's why he couldn't return to Seireitei on time. And yes, that's exactly what had happened. He repeated the story so many times he lost count. He felt like shouting at the two of them to get lost already, but he held his tongue because that would have landed him in more trouble.

Finally the two left, being unable to pin something really illegal on Hitsugaya. They said that his tardiness is for his captain to punish, but Hitsugaya knew that this wasn't the end of it. He was going to be under their surveillance for quite some time. It was a bother, but nothing too bad. He'd just have to steer clear of trouble. Though trouble had the unfortunate tendency to find him. But putting an extra effort into keeping all the rules would be prudent. He just hoped they would get bored with stalking him soon. He really wanted to try his Bankai again and in secret and giving his tails a slip would count as a suspicious behavior. He supposed he could cross that bridge when he came to it. For now, he'd concentrate on recuperating so he would be physically able to activate his Bankai again soon.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He had to stay in the General Relief Station for over a week. His injuries weren't that serious, but his exhaustion and the aftereffects of the strain the Bankai had put on his body meant that he healed slowly, despite the medics' best efforts. Even the reiryoku restoring Kidou didn't work like it was supposed to. He still felt a bit sore when he returned to the Eighth's barracks. When he realized that he'd have to report to the captain's office (or rather the lieutenant's, because Kyouraku was probably drunk somewhere again) and face the stern glare of Ise-fukutaichou and receive her scolding for his latecoming along with whatever punishment she'd decide to dish out, he was hit with a sudden sense of fatigue. Maybe he should just lie down on his futon and sleep until he felt better. But that would only dig him deeper. Ise Nanao had little sympathy for tardiness, no matter the reason. So he gathered what little strength he felt and dragged himself to face the music.

He knocked on the door of the captain's office reluctantly. He still wanted to bolt, but he felt too tired to do so. He mused idly why he was suddenly feeling so cowardly. He had been in bigger trouble before. Was it because Ise-fukutaichou was so scary? Or was it because he felt like he had no strength left to face the danger? Did the fight for Bankai drain him so badly that he had a hard time to muster both physical and mental strength for anything? He wished Hyourinmaru would tell him, but the zanpakutou spirit remained stubbornly silent. Maybe it was a good thing. The dragon would have just scolded him for his hesitation anyway.

"Enter!" Nanao's stern voice sounded from inside. Hitsugaya pushed the door open and walked in. Just as he expected, Kyouraku-taichou was nowhere in sight. Only a faint smell of sake suggested that he had been in earlier in the day. Ise-fukutaichou was sitting behind her desk, a huge pile of paperwork stacked in front of her as usual. Hitsugaya had never paid much attention to it before, but now, after achieving Bankai, he realized that he might soon end up being buried under a similar mountain of reports and forms too. The realization reinforced his decision not to tell anyone about his Bankai for the time being.

"Well," Lieutenant Ise said as he stood in front of her, staring at the floor intently. It seemed that the times when she used to be nice to him were gone for good. "So you've finally decided to show up. Well, at least you didn't get lost on the way from the Fourth. Can you explain yourself? Why couldn't you return on time? You had a whole month of leave. You got leeway enough that it was approved. I would never approve on giving such a long leave to anyone without a very good reason, especially not to a troublemaker like you. With your disciplinary record and your inability to adjust to any division, I'd keep you on a tight leash. But my captain for whatever reason decided to indulge you. And this is how you repay his kindness?"

"I didn't mean to return late," Hitsugaya answered. He decided to just stick with the story he had given the Onmitsukidou agents. Changing it now would be detrimental. "Right before I intended to return, I was attacked by a Hollow. I managed to purify it, but I was wounded and unable to run back to Seireitei."

"That must have been quite some Hollow to mess you up so badly," she remarked.

"It was."

"But that still doesn't explain what you were doing beyond the wildest Rukongai districts. There is just no reason for a normal person to go there," Nanao stated accusingly.

"I like the scenery there," Hitsugaya replied as calmly as he could. "And it's quiet too."

"Don't be cheeky," Ise scolded him. "You are in trouble, in case you didn't notice. You might have gotten off with no criminal charges, but that doesn't mean I consider you innocent."

"I'm telling the truth. I was really attacked by a Hollow," the boy answered trying to sound innocent, despite knowing that the Second Seat wasn't going to buy it.

"You still didn't explain what were you doing there," the bespectacled lieutenant reminded him.

"I said I liked the scenery there," Hitsugaya repeated. "The mountains are magnificent. Have you ever seen them?"

"I told you to stop being cheeky," Ise-fukutaichou scowled.

"If you don't believe me, then don't," Hitsugaya shrugged. He really didn't feel like arguing. "Just tell me what my punishment is so we can get over with this."

"Cheeky again, I see," Nanao scowled. "Very well. If you are so impatient, I'll tell you." And she did. In the end, it wasn't as bad as he feared. Just a pay cut and some unpleasant extra duties for half a year. He had suffered worse after he had blown up the mess hall at the Third. He could survive hours of sweeping floors and washing the dishes. It wasn't like he felt up to anything more strenuous anyway.

.*****************************************************************************************.

It was shortly after he was released from the Fourth when Hinamori came to visit him. She was beaming.

"Hello, Shiro-chan!" she greeted cheerfully. Hitsugaya, who still felt some of the effects of his month-long training, was tired from doing extra duties as a punishment for his latecoming and was in a bad mood. Her elation grated on his nerves.

"Bed-Wetter Momo," he grumbled. "How many times do I have to repeat you shouldn't call me that?"

"Sorry, Toushirou," she apologized sounding completely unrepentant. "I completely forgot with the excitement."

"What excitement?" He asked, trying to sound interested.

"Guess!" Her eyes shone with the mischievous light saying 'you are never going to get it right.' It was one of her favorite games. He decided to humor her and start with the most outlandish possibility he could think of.

"Aizen-taichou asked you to marry him?" Hinamori's face got a dreamy look, her cheeks flushing.

"Now that would be wonderful. But no, he didn't do it."

"That must have been quite a letdown," Hitsugaya remarked.

"Well," she shrugged, "I don't expect him to propose to me so soon anyway..."

"So you do expect him to propose?" Toushirou interrupted her. "You're crazy."

"I'm joking, Toushirou," she corrected him. Then she assumed her earlier dreamy look. "But if he did propose..."

"You are a hopeless fangirl," the white-haired boy commented. "Can't you think about anything but Aizen?"

"I can. And you started talking about Aizen-taichou." He couldn't deny it. "And now guess. What's the good news?"

"You got promoted?" he tried another unlikely possibility.

"Not yet and it isn't official, but I will be promoted soon!" she announced cheerfully.

"Really?" Hitsugaya couldn't believe he got it right. It hadn't been too long since Hinamori had become the Fifth Seat and he didn't think she was ready for a higher position. Though she had trained hard since that battle they had fought together, he doubted she had improved that much. Though it sounded a bit hypocritical to his own ears. But Momo wasn't him. "That's good for you. So what seat will you be? Fourth? Third?"

"Well, I shouldn't get my hopes too high, but I might even make the lieutenant," she answered. It was obvious that she considered becoming Aizen's lieutenant a given.

"Lieutenant? You?" Hitsugaya blinked in surprise.

"Only if I do well during the test," she replied, trying to sound humble and failing. "But Aizen-taichou says I'm good and I should have no problem. But I must study hard. And train. I know my Kidou is good, but I have to improve my swordsmanship and shunpo."

"I still cannot imagine you as a lieutenant," Toushirou shook his head.

"What? You don't think I'm good enough?" She sounded offended.

"You are good, Momo," he said, trying to placate her, "but a lieutenant must be a whole different level of good."

"I'm better than you think," she retorted, sounding a bit irritated.

"Even if you are, being a fukutaichou isn't only about being good; you must command respect of a whole division. And I just can't see you commanding respect," Hitsugaya explained.

"What? So I don't look respectable enough?" she took offense. He looked at her petite stature, girlish flushed cheeks and childishly wide eyes.

"Well, no," he answered honestly. "But if you think you can do it, good luck. That aside, why is the Second Seat suddenly open? Did something happen to Lieutenant Ichimaru?"

"No," she shook her head, "he's too good for that. I shouldn't tell you this, but he'll be taking the Captain's Exam soon." That struck a bit too close to home. He was thinking about Captain's Exams too.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really," she confirmed. "He could have tried years earlier, but he wanted to be sure he'll make it."

"That's reasonable," Hitsugaya remarked. It made him think about what he was going to do, a subject he had been avoiding in the past days.

"I think you should try too," Hinamori's voice snapped him out of his musings before he could really start.

"What?" he blinked. Surely Momo couldn't...

"Try for a lieutenant," Hinamori explained as if she was talking for a child, completely misinterpreting the cause of Hitsugaya's confusion. "Or at least a higher position. Why are you still the Tenth Seat? You used to be so good in the Academy. I was so jealous of you and now I'm advancing faster than you. Are you slacking in your training or what?"

"Of course not," he took offense.

"Then why are you stuck with a low position?" she questioned.

"I don't see why I should strive for promotion," he shrugged. "Say I actually did make a lieutenant. I would have to make a whole division respect me. And look at me. Do I look like somebody they would instantly respect? I have enough trouble to convince my unit I'm not some upstart kid, but a competent officer, and there's only eight of them. Now if there was a full division of them," he shook his head, "I don't think I could do it. No, Momo, I'm content where I am."

"I think you're being lazy," Hinamori stated.

"What?"

"You just don't want to deal with the responsibility and work the higher positions bring, so you aren't really trying," Momo said accusatorily. "You're making excuses with not looking respectable. I don't look exactly respectable either and I have no problem commanding respect. You could do it too."

"You have the support of your captain," Hitsugaya pointed out. "I don't. And I have the bad reputation of somebody who can't stay in the same division for two straight years. Everybody thinks I'm a trouble-maker."

"I don't," Momo assured him. "I know you're just a trouble-magnet."

"That's just as bad," he replied.

"I'm not going to convince you, am I?" she sighed.

"No." His tone made it known that his answer was final.

"I should go," Hinamori said. "I should be training or I won't make it."

"Good luck, Momo."

"Good luck to you too, Toushirou."

.*****************************************************************************************.

It took over two weeks before he felt well enough to try activating Bankai again. The warnings about the dangers in using so much reiryoku at once never mentioned that it could be so bad. He could only hope that it would improve in time, otherwise he would be unable to wield his Bankai in combat and what would be the point of having it then?

He was lucky that the Onmitsukidou ceased their surveillance a few days ago. Some mess had happened and they were short on manpower. That was good for Hitsugaya, though he knew it was bad for someone else. Fortunately not someone he knew personally.

He used the first day he had for personal training and headed for a remote place. He discovered enough of them during his materialization training, but most of them weren't remote enough to release Bankai undetected. There was a satisfactory one in the 17th district of South Rukongai and it would do for today, but he'll have to look for something better soon.

Once he arrived into the valley, he took a while to make sure he was indeed alone. He was scared that he might hurt somebody unintentionally, but it seemed like luck was on his side today. He couldn't feel a single soul in the vicinity.

Relieved, he unsheathed his sword.

"_Are you ready?" _he asked.

"_**Whenever you are, master,"**_his zanpakutou answered. It made him feel odd. He still couldn't get used to Hyourinmaru's new form of address.

"_Then let's start." _He wasn't sure he was ready, but there was nothing to gain by waiting. He took a deep breath and pointed his blade straight ahead.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru." The blade lengthened, the sickle and chain appeared and the air around them chilled, the sky was cast over by heavy clouds and the surrounding foliage was covered in frost. _Here it goes, _Hitsugaya thought.

"Bankai. Daiguren Hyourinmaru." He felt the power flowing through his veins again. It was overwhelming, even more than the first time. This time he had more reiryoku to use and paid more mind to what was happening.

The clouds overhead thickened and snow began falling heavily. The blade in his hand changed slightly. The star-shaped guard was now joined with a second one, positioned so that the final effect looked like an eight-pointed star. And ice began forming around him. The wings and tail appearing at his back were most notable, but now he wasn't preoccupied, he noticed other ice appendages forming. His right arm was encased in an armored sleeve of ice. He wondered how he was supposed to move it, but when he tried, there was no hindrance. The ice seemed weightless. And ice appeared at his left hand too, forming something resembling a dragon's claw. And now he looked, similar claws were attached to his feet. He flexed his fingers experimentally. The ice claws mirrored their movements. A smile found its way to his face. He couldn't tell what was funny about this situation, but he felt like smiling.

He turned around to see his wings better. That was when he noticed three ice flowers floating behind him, their shape closely resembling the hilt of Hyourinmaru. As he watched them, one began slowly melting, one of its petals falling apart.

"_What is this?" _he asked, frowning. The flower melting away seemed ominous.

"_**It indica**__**tes how much time you have left," **_Hyourinmaru answered.

"_What time? Left for what?" _Hitsugaya inquired inquired.

"_**It shows how long before you can't keep your Banka**__**i active anymore," **_the zanpakutou spirit explained.

"_I've never heard about anything like that__," _the white-haired boy scrunched his brow. _"Shouldn't the Bankai stay active unless its wielder is close to death?"_ That was something all the books agreed on.

"_**That might be true for other shinigami and their zanpakutou, **__**but not for you. You're special,"**_ the ice dragon replied.

"_Special? How?"_ Hitsugaya questioned.

"_**You have achieved Bankai before your power matured. It didn't even start really maturing**__** yet. That's why the time you can keep your Bankai active is limited. If you tried to keep it for longer, your body would give out under the strain,"**_ Hyourinmaru elaborated.

"_That's bad," _Hitsugaya mused watching the second petal slowly melt away. _"If it deactivates on its own after a while, it is useless in battle."_

"_**Don't despair, master**__**," **_the zanpakutou comforted him. _**"Be glad you have a Bankai. And the time it stands active might be short now, but you can prolong it with training. Once you can hold it long enough to defeat an opponent, the time limit won't matter."**_

"_There might always be an opponent against whom it would matter," _Toushirou remarked morosely.

"_**Then you'll have a problem,"**_Hyourinmaru shrugged. _**"But you are strong, master. You'll find your way through."**_

"_Thanks for the vote of confidence," _the boy smiled.

"_**You're welcome. And shouldn't you start training? The second petal is completely gone now."**_

"_I should," _Hitsugaya agreed. He spread his wings and jumped in the air. The sensation of flight was just as exhilarating as the first time. Maybe even more, because he was more alert now to appreciate it fully. He made a few loops in the air, testing how his wings reacted. The movement was mostly instinctual, but he realized that he would require a lot of practice to increase his maneuverability to a level useful in battle.

He decided to leave it for the next time and try some attacking for a change. A single swing of his sword created a great winged dragon. It shot forward through the air. Hitsugaya tried to make it circle around him, but it barely responded to his commands. He frowned. What was the problem?

"_**This is harder to control than the shikai, master," **_Hyourinmaru explained.

"_I noticed,__"_ the boy grimaced.

"_**It just needs pract**__**ice,"**_ the zanpakutou spirit reassured him.

"_Doesn't everything?" _Hitsugaya replied philosophically before trying again. This time he created the attack using less force. It was more maneuverable, but he still couldn't make it fly like he wanted. His third attempt was the same.

"_**I think you should quit now, master," **_Hyourinmaru advised him.

"_Why?" _Hitsugaya asked. _"I barely began."_

"_**You're near your limit,"**_the ice dragon pointed out. _**"The last flower has only two petals left now."**_

"_What?" _Toushirou looked over his shoulder, feeling slightly panicked. Judging from the speed the first two petals melted, he should have much more time left. And he didn't feel tired or strained either.

"_**It melts faster the more power you use,"**_ the zanpakutou spirit answered his unasked question. _**"And now land and dismiss the Bankai before the last petal breaks. Or do you want a repeat of the last time?"**_

That was something Hitsugaya didn't want. He quickly landed, wishing his Bankai to disappear. There was no time to spare, the last petal just began melting.

As soon as he sheathed his sword, the exhaustion hit him. It was as if somebody dropped a ten-ton rock on him and threw him into a furnace simultaneously. He collapsed into the snow, panting heavily. He really was close to his limit, even if he hadn't felt like it earlier. The ice flowers seemed really useful now. His whole body burned, his limbs felt heavy and he wanted nothing but sleep for a week. But despite his fatigue, he couldn't fall asleep. Maybe he was too tired even for that. He lay there and watched as the clouds slowly dissipated, the sun shone through them again and the snow began melting. He was thinking about his new power and what he should do with it. So far he had told nobody about his training, but that was mostly because he didn't want people to laugh at him for thinking he could learn Bankai. But now he had achieved it, that argument didn't hold any longer. So should he reveal he had achieved Bankai? What would happen if he did?

He knew that there were still two divisions without captains, but he had heard rumors that Lieutenant Ichimaru would take the Captain's Exam soon. He didn't know whether it was true, some of the things Hinamori said certainly weren't, but even if it was, that would still leave one position open. And the soutaichou was desperate to find anyone with a Bankai to fill it. So should he apply? _Yeah, right,_ he thought sarcastically. A kid captain. Good joke. Nobody would take him seriously. He had enough trouble making his eight subordinates obey him, how could he be expected to lead a whole division? Especially if said division either contained Matsumoto or suffered of long-term deteriorating morale? He just couldn't imagine it. So he wasn't going to apply for a captain's position, but what if somebody would try to make him? He didn't feel competent enough to lead a division, so he'd better not tell anyone. At least until he improved with his Bankai. Speaking of which...

"_Hyourinmaru?"_ he called mentally.

"_**Master?"**_ the sword spirit responded.

"_Do you have more special abilities?"_ Hitsugaya inquired.

"_**Of course I do."**_ The dragon sounded mildly offended. _**"I can command all the ice and water. Of course I have many special moves. And you can even create new ones once you're good enough."**_

"_So what are the moves?"_ the white-haired boy asked eagerly.

"_**My, my, aren't you an impatient child," **_the zanpakutou spirit chuckled. _**"You can barely use the basics and you already want more techniques?"**_

"_I was just asking," _Hitsugaya replied defensively. _"I'd like to know what I can look forward to. For better motivation, you know?"_

"_**You don't have to pretend in front of me," **_Hyourinmaru said patronizingly. _**"I know your heart. And there's nothing wrong with being curious. In fact, I expected you to ask much sooner."**_

"_So what is it?"_ the boy wanted to know.

"_**There are many**__**," **_the zanpakutou spirit replied. _**"I'll reveal them to you whenever I think you are ready for one. Some of them you won't be ready for until you grow up."**_

"_That's an awfully long time," _Toushirou remarked. He had barely grown any since he left the Academy. Aging in Soul Society followed some very complicated rules which nobody understood perfectly, but generally those with greater reiryoku aged slower. And those who had achieved Bankai aged almost imperceptibly. Did it mean he was going to get stuck as a child for centuries? It was a thought he preferred not to ponder on. It wasn't like he could do anything about it.

He decided he had done enough thinking for one day. And the sun was also getting lower. He should get moving if he wanted to return to the barracks before evening. He got up. His body still hurt, but he didn't feel like he was lying in fire anymore. He was still tired, but he didn't feel like collapsing anymore. And he was hungry. After using up so much reiryoku it was to be expected. He shunpoed towards Seireitei. His tired muscles protested, but he paid them no mind. The sooner he'd get back, the sooner he could have dinner.

.*****************************************************************************************.

This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to deal with a group of minor Hollows, maybe even a huge one that had somehow found their way into the 75th district of East Rukongai. It was supposed to be an easy mission the 5th Combat Unit shouldn't have any trouble with. The good news was that there were only four Hollows. The bad news was that only one of them was a minor Hollow. The second was considerably more powerful, the third one was a Giant Hollow and the last one a Menos Grande. It was just a Gillian, but even that was more than his unit was equipped to fight against. The first thing he did when he saw it was to summon a Hell Butterfly and call for reinforcements, but he didn't count on them arriving in time. He wanted to just tell his subordinates to wait until some high-ranking officer arrived, but it seemed like they didn't have the luxury of time. The group was marching straight at the nearest town and if somebody didn't stop them soon, they would massacre countless souls living there. And Hitsugaya would be damned before he'd allow it to happen. He turned to his men and started giving orders.

"Tanaka, you take the small one with the spiked tail. Kuno, Ueshiba, you two go after the one that looks like an octopus. Touji, Minamoto and Yamada go after the big one. Wasabi and Takahashi, you are reserves. Assist whoever needs it. I'm going after the Gillian."

There were startled gasps and exclamations of disbelief. Most of them could be summed up as this:

"But you're just a Tenth Seat! You can't take on a Menos Grande alone!"

"Don't tell me what I can or cannot do," Hitsugaya silenced them. "We don't have the time to wait for reinforcements. And I gave you and order, so why are you still here?" They looked at him dubiously, but they obeyed. Hitsugaya sighed. Even after all this time his men had trouble taking him seriously, and just because he looked like a child. He shook himself. He had no time for idle musings. There was a Gillian he had to fight.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru," he shouted. He felt the cold power surge through him. The sky darkened with clouds and a dragon of ice formed around his sword. He sent it flying at the Gillian. The dragon hit the Menos just above its hole. It made the monster pause in its step, but otherwise it had no other effect. Hitsugaya cursed. He had heard that those things were tough, but up to now he hadn't realized just how much. It looked like he'd have to try harder.

He raised his reiatsu and used a shunpo to get high in the air. He sent a dragon flying on the Menos' mask from point blank. The Hollow dodged. Damn, he didn't know those things were so fast and smart. And then he realized that he was in a very vulnerable position, open for an attack and without the possibility to dodge. In the next moment the Gillian slammed into him, with the obvious intent to swallow him. Hitsugaya kicked his mask and jumped away.

Now he looked at its mask closely, he noticed something odd. It looked a bit different from what the illustrations in the textbooks showed. The shape of the body was the same, so it undoubtedly was a Gillian, but the mask was wrong. The nose was crooked, it showed pronounced cheekbones and there was a protrusion on its chin, resembling a goatee. Hitsugaya wondered what did it mean. Was this one somehow different? He knew there were higher classes of Menos, but he didn't know much about them. Such information was usually of no relevance for anyone below Third Seat. Only the strongest of shinigami faced the Menos. The other just ran. But Hitsugaya couldn't afford to run. He had to fight, no matter whether his opponent was stronger than he had initially thought.

He quickly checked himself. His shihakushou was torn, but otherwise he was only bruised. Good. It would have been too dangerous to fight a Menos Grande while wounded. Then a shadow fell over him and he instinctively shunpoed away. It was just in time. The Gillian's giant foot just stomped at the exact spot he had stood on just a moment ago. There was no time to dawdle. He had to fight.

He sent another dragon flying at the Menos, this time aiming for its mask. The giant swung his arm and brushed the ice dragon aside. His sleeve looked only mildly frosted. Toushirou cursed. This was going to be a long and hard battle.

He fired several more ice projectiles before coming to the conclusion that he was getting nowhere. But at least he managed to keep the Gillian's attention occupied and lead it away from the others, though only a short distance. Now to keep it from turning back. He smirked, as an idea formed in his head.

He darted forward, using shunpo to get close to the monster. There he swung his chain around, wrapping it around the Hollow's leg. He sent his reiatsu into the chain, trying to freeze the appendage. Then he swung his sword with all his might, cutting deep into the monster's leg.

Little chunks of frozen tissue went flying in all direction, but it wasn't enough. It was only a surface wound. The Gillian screamed in pain and leaned over him. Hitsugaya cursed. He needed to get out of there quickly, but Hyourinmaru's chain was wrapped around the Hollow's leg. And he couldn't let go of his weapon. That would be suicide. He pointed his left arm at the Gillian's mask.

"Hadou #73: Souren Soukatsui!" he cried. Twin balls of blue flame left his palm and headed for the Hollow. It dodged one of them, but the second one hit right on target. And rebounded right off. Hitsugaya didn't really expect it to do any damage, but it had fulfilled its purpose. It gave him the time to untangle Hyourinmaru's chain from the Gillian's leg. He shunpoed away before the Menos could stomp on him.

He used the brief reprieve to check on his subordinates. Kuno and Ueshiba were fairing well. They had managed to cut off several of the Hollow octopus' tentacles, but it was still resisting, though it wouldn't be doing so for much longer, if the two had their way.

Tanaka was holding his own. The Hollow seemed to have the upper hand, but the shinigami wasn't wounded. The fight could go either way.

Minamoto, Touji and Yamada were worse off. Yamada was lying on the ground, apparently unconscious. Touji was clutching her bleeding arm, unable to use her zanpakutou anymore. Takahashi was kneeling next to her, attempting to stop the bleeding. Wasabi was helping Minamoto, but they weren't doing well. The giant Hollow was tossing them around. He wanted to help them, but he had enough trouble on his own. The Gillian had regained its composure and was attacking again.

Hitsugaya dodged its claw sweep and threw the crescent blade after the appendage. The chain wrapped itself around its forearm and Hitsugaya jumped after it. This tactic had worked once before, so he decided to repeat it. Only this time he would have to cut the arm off, or he was going to be stuck in a dangerous spot again. He channeled his reiatsu into the chain and watched the ice covering the Gillian's arm. Then his sword struck. Part of the forearm shattered, but the hand still remained attached. Hitsugaya tightened the chain around the wound, sending in more reiatsu. Then he cut into it again. This time it worked. The gigantic hand fell off. Hitsugaya rejoiced, but he had to dodge the other arm quickly.

When he was midair, he noticed red light. Alarmed, he looked at the Gillian's masked face. Sure enough, there was a Cero forming in its mouth. Getting hit by that wasn't something he would ever want to experience. He could create one of his dragons and use it as a springboard to get away, but, he looked behind, that would mean that Touji, Yamada and Takahashi would be hit. They had their backs turned to them, so they wouldn't even know they should dodge. It wasn't good. Hitsugaya realized that there was only one thing he could do now. He pointed Hyourinmaru straight ahead.

"Bankai! Daiguren Hyourinmaru!" He felt the ice forming around him. The Gillian fired. And the wings weren't still fully formed. He watched as the Cero neared him. He swung his sword forward, letting a dragon form on it. He didn't have the time to complete the attack, but he hoped it would be enough. The mass of ice hit the Cero head-on and shattered. But it served to absorb a good portion of the Hollow energy. Hitsugaya closed his still incomplete wings around himself. The Cero impacted on them. He felt them cracking, as they still weren't at their optimal strength, and he was flung back. Then it suddenly ended.

He was lying on the ground close to the wounded group. His wings were shattered, but they were already regenerating. His body hurt, but it seemed like even the weakened wings were enough to protect him from taking any substantial damage. But it had cost him a lot of reiatsu. Even without looking, he could tell that one of his ice flowers was already gone and the other was reduced to only one petal that was slowly melting. He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the shocked stares of his subordinates, and shunpoed to the Gillian. It tried to hit him with its uninjured arm, but he was too fast for it. It started charging another Cero in its mouth, but Hitsugaya didn't give it the time to complete it. He swung Hyourinmaru with all his might and sent an ice dragon flying at its mask from point blank. The Menos didn't even have the time to look surprised (if his mask allowed for facial expressions). The dragon hit its target and the Gillian's mask shattered. His body started slowly dissipating.

Hitsugaya turned in the air, looking how the others were fairing. The octopus-like Hollow was nowhere to be seen and Kuno and Ueshiba were watching him open-mouthed. So they must have purified it. The giant Hollow was still around. And Minamoto was lying on the ground, either knocked out or fainted from the spiritual pressure. Only Wasabi was still fighting it. Even if Kuno and Ueshiba were to help him now, their chances weren't good. And Tanaka and his opponent were nowhere to be seen.

Hitsugaya felt a petal on his last flower melt. He had precious little time left if he wanted to do something. He flash stepped closer to the giant Hollow and fired an ice dragon at its mask. It had just enough time to look frightened before it was destroyed.

For a moment, he glimpsed Tanaka fighting the tailed Hollow through a small grove. The man was wounded and Hitsugaya moved to help him. Then, with a jingling sound, the last ice petal broke apart and Hitsugaya felt his power leaving him. He gave one brief thought to dismissing his Bankai, which was already beginning to fall apart. Then the weakness overcame him and he passed out.

The assembled shinigami watched as their commander fell form the sky and landed with a thud. Even though the overwhelming spiritual pressure was gone, it took them a long time to wake from their stupor.

"W-what was that?" Kuno stuttered.

"I've never seen it before," Ueshiba replied.

"I had no idea he was so powerful," Wasabi breathed.

"It was something other than his shikai," Takahashi spoke. "And it had so much more power. You don't suppose it could have been Bankai?"

"Don't be silly," Touji shook her head. "Only captains have Bankai."

"Then what else could that be?" Ueshiba asked. Nobody had an answer.

"Whatever it was, we have more pressing matters here," Takahashi pointed out. "We have to take care for the wounded, before our reinforcements arrive."

Then a pained shout sounded.

"Tanaka!" Ueshiba exclaimed. Once again, they had nearly forgotten the man's existence. Whoever could, shunpoed to the source of the sound. They were just in the nick of time. Tanaka was lying on the ground, bleeding heavily. The Hollow, now missing a couple of limbs, stood above him, its spiked tail poised to crush him. Ueshiba blocked the strike, Touji fired a Shakkahou at it and Takahashi finished it with a sword strike to its head.

Having dealt with the immediate danger, the still able shinigami began treating the wounded, waiting for help to arrive. Not too much later, Captain Kyouraku appeared followed by a winded Lieutenant Ise, for once without her trademark book.

"Kyouraku-taichou!" Ueshiba exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I've heard there was a Menos Grande here," the pink-clad man answered. "So I came to deal with it. But it appears somebody already did so." Everybody looked at Hitsugaya's unconscious form.

"He did it," Touji reported.

"I haven't seen anything like that before," Takahashi added. "So much power. And it looked different from his shikai. He crushed the Menos in one hit." She didn't want to voice his speculations about Bankai in front of the captain. Somebody who actually had Bankai would surely laugh at her.

"Something like Bankai?" Kyouraku said. Takahashi looked at him with surprise, as did everybody else, especially Ise-fukutaichou.

"What are you saying?" she asked.

"Didn't you feel it, Nanao-chan?" Shunsui asked. "That sudden rise of reiatsu was pretty hard to miss."

"I might have felt something, but I've been too busy keeping pace with you," the lieutenant replied. Her breathing had yet to return to normal.

"I felt it clearly," Kyouraku said.

"But... this child?" Nanao asked in disbelief. It summed up everybody's thoughts nicely.

"Mind-blowing, isn't it?" the captain remarked.

"You don't look surprised," the lieutenant observed.

"I thought he might have Bankai," Shunsui replied.

"But... how?" she stammered.

"I might have noticed him practicing materialization a few months ago," Kyouraku explained, "and I saw he was pretty far along. And when he returned from his month-long training trip, I was almost sure he made it. The difference in his reiatsu was obvious."

"Month long training trip?" Nanao echoed. Then her face suddenly lit up."That vacation?" she tried.

"Yes," Kyouraku confirmed. "Or why did you think I allowed it?"

"You said..." Nanao began, but then she realized how stupid it would sound and stopped.

"Nanao-chan," Kyouraku looked at her patronizingly, "despite what people think about me, I take interest in all members of my division, especially the young ones. Even if they aren't girls. And while it is true that this kid needs to loosen up, that still isn't a reason to allow him this long leave in my book." Lieutenant Ise looked at him dubiously, but said nothing. Kyouraku turned away, indicating that he considered the conversation over. Nanao moved too. There were wounded to take care of and with her Kidou skills she could help them before the Fourth Division arrived.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"May I have a moment of your time?" Kyouraku asked as he sauntered through the door of the captain's office of the Seventh Division.

"You may," the masked captain answered, looking up from the folders he had been studying. As much as he usually didn't like interruptions of his work, this time he welcomed the break, because the task was depressing him. He wouldn't have believed how hard it was to find a competent lieutenant if this wasn't already the fifth time he was doing it. He remembered with fondness his first fukutaichou, Kotsubaki Jin'emon. That man had been a solid rock the Seventh Division could lean on after they had lost their previous captain, and he had been a good assistant to Komamura, before he suddenly decided to retire. The captain didn't really understand why, the man wasn't that old. But he respected his decision. He then promoted the Third Seat to lieutenant and things were good until the man got killed by a Hollow. After that, there was a trio of not entirely suitable lieutenants. One had trouble with discipline, the other panicked in the middle of a battle, getting several of his subordinates killed, and the last one simply was barely qualified, quitting the job on his own when he realized he couldn't keep up with its demands. That forced Komamura to look for a new Second Seat, because managing the division on his own was too exhausting. But the list of potential candidates wasn't long and their resumes weren't encouraging. There was no one suitable in his own division and the other captains tended to keep competent subordinates for themselves and send out the problematic ones they wanted to get rid of. He couldn't begrudge them. If he had a choice, he'd prefer to have a spare lieutenant too. So now all he had to choose from were a heavy alcoholic, an Eleventh's barbarian, a man barely competent and a hothead with no sense of self-restraint. Neither of them were something he would want as his lieutenant. It was disheartening, so he was glad for anything that would take his mind off it for a while. Even if it was the permanently inebriated captain of the Eighth.

"Looking for a new lieutenant, I see," the pink-clad man observed.

"Yes," Komamura answered closing the folder.

"Still no-one suitable?" Shunsui inquired.

"No," the masked captain sighed, "and considering that one more division is going to need a new lieutenant too, I doubt there will be one anytime soon."

"Maybe I could help you with it," the pink-clad man offered.

"Really?" Komamura asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice. If even the most laid-back of captains wanted to get rid of a powerful subordinate...

"Really," Kyouraku nodded. "Someone of his talent is wasted in his position and I have no openings in the higher seats of my division." It didn't sound entirely convincing. Sajin wondered what the problem with this one was. But he decided to give it a chance. After all, how much worse could he be than his current candidates?

"So who is he?" he asked.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou is his name," Shunsui informed him laying a folder on his desk. Komamura opened it.

"Only Tenth Seat?" he asked in dismay. "That's too low for a lieutenant candidate." And he had for a moment thought that he might have gotten lucky.

"He's much more powerful than his rank suggests," the pink-clad man insisted.

"How powerful?" Komamura answered trying to sound interested.

"He purified a Menos Grande on his own," Kyouraku informed him.

"Oh?" The Seventh Division Captain was startled. "That's quite an achievement and worthy of the fukutaichou rank. Which brings the question why would you want to send him away. Is he a troublemaker?" He pointed at a passage in Hitsugaya's personal folder. "Looking at how often he switches divisions, it sounds likely."

"He does have trouble fitting in," Kyouraku admitted, "though it's mostly because of his appearance." That struck home. Komamura was very familiar with being shunned based on one's looks. It was the only reason he wore the bothersome helmet all the time. He felt a wave of sympathy to this one.

"Even so, that doesn't answer my original question. Why won't you keep him?" he asked cautiously. It sounded too good to be true. There must be some catch somewhere.

"He would leave soon anyway," Shunsui answered.

"Oh? And what is that supposed to mean?"

"He has Bankai." Komamura blinked in surprise. He was sure he had heard it wrong.

"What?"

"He has Bankai," Kyouraku repeated.

"A Tenth Seat?" Komamura questioned. His usually sharp ears must be deceiving him today. There was no way this could be true.

"I told you, he is much more powerful than his rank suggests," Shunsui shrugged with a hint of amusement in his voice. He was enjoying Komamura's reaction thoroughly.

"Which brings the question of why wasn't he promoted earlier," Komamura stated, his voice suspicious once again. "And don't give me 'there aren't any empty spots.'"

"He has trouble with establishing his authority," the older captain explained. "He can complete even the hardest of assignments, but whenever he's supposed to take command of anything, problems arise. People have trouble following his orders. Even after two years, his squad tends to question his decisions, despite him usually being correct."

"And why would that be so?" the helmeted captain questioned.

"It's because of his looks," Kyouraku answered. "I believe I already said so once."

"That sound's implausible," Komamura stated.

"If you saw him, you'd understand," Shunsui shrugged.

"I'm still not convinced. Somebody who people doesn't listen to can't be a good lieutenant," the Seventh Division captain pointed out.

"Which is why I haven't promoted him before, but that's no longer an option," Kyouraku replied. "Did you miss the part about Bankai? Even with Ichimaru passing the Captain's Exam, we still have one spot open. Yama-jii's getting desperate for someone to fill it and as far as I know, there isn't anyone else with Bankai in the whole Gotei 13 who isn't already a captain. This kid will sooner or later get called to fill in the position and as he is, he wouldn't know where to begin. Therefore he has to learn how to lead a division as soon as possible and he should learn it from a better role model than me."

"I can see your reasoning," Komamura nodded slowly. "But I have to ask: why me? Wouldn't the Fifth be better for him?"

"Aizen has already chosen a new lieutenant," Kyouraku answered. "It should be made official soon. That said, yours is the only division currently without a fukutaichou. And there is another reason: training."

"What about it?" the Nanabantai Taichou questioned.

"Toushirou-kun's Bankai is very new, I believe he has achieved it only last month," the pink-clad captain explained. "He has to practice with it before he can use it in battle effectively and your Bankai is good for sparring."

"My Bankai can usually obliterate an opponent with one hit," Komamura reminded him.

"But you can pull punches," Shunsui pointed out. "If I activate my Bankai, somebody dies. And you could use the practice for your own improvement. Compared to mine, it's a relatively new one too." Komamura grimaced under his mask. Kyouraku's words sounded like an insult to him, but he couldn't deny the truth in them.

"Very well," he decided. "I'll give your subordinate a chance." It wasn't like there were any desirable alternatives.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya awoke in a hospital. _This is becoming a habit, _he thought sourly. He didn't want it to become a habit. He preferred staying out of the hospital as long as he could. The healer who appeared to check his vitals was pretty stereotypical too. What was new was the sudden appearance of Captain Kyouraku. Hitsugaya quickly scrambled to his feet to greet the captain properly.

"Just lay down," the pink-clad man interrupted him. "You're recovering and Retsu would have my head if you strained yourself." Hitsugaya promptly laid back down, though he didn't feel really bad. Just tired and a bit sore, but he had no significant injury. But the wrath of Captain Unohana was something he had no intention of facing if he could avoid it.

"That was quite a feat defeating the Menos. You must be tired," Kyouraku said. _Here it comes, _Hitsugaya thought. His whole body stiffened. The captain didn't miss it. "You don't have to be so tense, you did nothing wrong," he said reassuringly.

"Uhm," Hitsugaya responded not knowing what to say. He still felt very anxious, despite knowing that he wasn't in trouble. He knew that his life was probably going to change now and he didn't know whether for better or for worse.

"Really, there's no reason to be worried," Kyouraku said. Hitsugaya still wasn't convinced. He could recall several occasions when saying that there was nothing to worry about invoked trouble. And though a sudden Hollow attack was a highly improbable occurrence in the hospital, there were plenty other things that could go wrong. "You should be happy. You defeated a Menos and that is something few shinigami can claim. Even those of higher rank than yours." Hitsugaya didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent. Kyouraku looked at him intently. Toushirou realized that some answer was required of him.

"Uhm... thank you?" Kyouraku chuckled.

"You really should work on your confidence," the captain advised him. "But that's for another time. Now about your latest battle. What can you tell me about it?"

Hitsugaya began giving his report. But when he got to the part when he had released Bankai, he stopped. He felt like saying it aloud would make it definite, though he wasn't quite sure what the 'it' was. But his subordinates had already seen it, so the cat was already out of the bag. But maybe they hadn't recognized what they had been looking at.

"I've heard something interesting from your men about what happened next," Shunsui said seeing his hesitation. Hitsugaya gulped. It was going to happen now. Whatever it was. "That you used an ability they have never seen before and also released more reiatsu than they felt before." Hitsugaya nodded mutely. Kyouraku made a dramatic pause. "Some of them even speculated it might have been Bankai." Despite expecting these words, they still came as a shock. "Do you?"

Hitsugaya nodded. There was no use denying it now.

"I thought so," the captain said.

"You did?" Hitsugaya asked stupidly.

"I've noticed your level of power and its recent increase," Shunsui said. "That's why I have been giving you missions I ordinarily would give to a Fourth or Third Seat."

"So you've been working me like a Third Seat for a Tenth Seat's pay?" Toushirou asked.

"Only occasionally," the captain admitted.

"Humph." Hitsugaya didn't want to say something rude to his captain so he rather bit his tongue.

"And don't look so sullen," the Eighth Division Captain chided him. "You should be proud. It's a great thing you have accomplished. Few shinigami reached the same height. And none of them so young." Toushirou blushed under the praise. "Why do you still act as if you did something bad?" Kyouraku sighed. "Everybody else would be jumping with joy and shouting his accomplishment for everybody to hear."

"What would be the point in that?" Hitsugaya asked.

"It's called being happy," the pink-clad man replied. "But you don't look happy at all. What has you so down?"

"I'm worried about what happens next," the boy answered sincerely.

"Well, that's a mature attitude to have, though not much fun," Kyouraku shrugged. "I told you already, you worry too much. Things tend to work out in the end. If you weren't so secretive, you could have saved yourself a whole load of trouble."

"Uhm." Kyouraku was probably right, but Hitsugaya didn't want to dwell on the topic. "So how is this going to work out?"

"Well, let me start with a lesson first. The Gotei 13 are going through trying times," Kyouraku said with a faraway look in his eyes. "It started nearly a century ago. At first, it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. Some older captains retired and new ones replaced them. Such things happen regularly, but usually not this much in such a short time. Suddenly we were out of captain-class shinigami who weren't already captains. It got so far that Shihouin Yoruichi was made the captain of the Second, despite the fact that she already was the Commander in chief of the Onmitsukidou. Joining two such forces together under one clan was unprecedented, but the Central 46 thought it was better than having a captainless division.

And then the Tenth Division Captain got killed in action and the Twelfth Division captain got promoted to the Royal Guard less than a week later. It was unfortunate timing, but there was nothing we could do about it. And only one candidate was presented for the two empty spots. He was Urahara Kisuke and he was given command of the Twelfth. Tenth got the short end of the deal.

For the next ten years or so, everything was quiet. Then disaster struck out of the blue. Experiments with Hollowification were going on in Rukongai. The elite team sent to investigate was turned into Hollows too. We lost four captains and four lieutenants that day. Urahara was convicted on conducting those experiments and the Dai Kidouchou Tsukabishi was charged with assisting him. Yoruichi helped them escape. So we lost three more captains. And seven captains lost within a day, that was a deep blow. As you see, we still haven't gotten over it. It took years before someone worthy of the captain haori appeared.

Aizen, Tousen, Soifon, Komamura, Kurotsuchi, Kuchiki Byakuya, it was even suggested that he should take command of some other division than the Sixth, which is the Kuchiki tradition, but the Central 46 had trouble with two divisions under the command of the same clan. The joining of Onmitsukidou with the Second was bad enough. But they might have relented eventually, but then old Ginrei got wounded in a battle against a Gillian, decided he wasn't fit to be a captain anymore and retired. So Byakuya got the Sixth. And less than a year later the command of the Eleventh changed too. Why did Zaraki have to kill Kiganjou? We could have one open spot less. Though, neither of them could ever be part of any other division than the Eleventh. And Zaraki is a step up from Kiganjou, even if people find it hard to believe. But I digress. And now Ichimaru is going to take the test. Even if he passes, there would still be one spot open. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"You know I have Bankai," Hitsugaya replied. "This sounds like you're telling me to become a captain. But that's just ridiculous. Can you honestly imagine me in command of a division?"

"Can you imagine anyone else?" Kyouraku retorted. "Bankai is extremely rare. You know this just as well as I do. I don't think I would recommend you under different circumstances, but the truth is we need to complete the Thirteen badly. And there is just no one else."

"Even so, I have no idea how to lead a division," Hitsugaya argued. "It would fall apart."

"That's true now," Kyouraku admitted, "but you're a fast learner. You just need to gain some experience. Preferably as a lieutenant."

"Lieutenant?" Toushirou blinked. "Does it mean..."

"Oh, I'm not going to sack my Nanao-chan, if that's what you're going to ask." It wasn't, but Hitsugaya didn't feel like correcting him. "There's an empty spot in the Seventh. I've already spoken with Komamura about it. It has yet to be made official, but you're going to be wearing the badge soon."

"Great," Hitsugaya said with sarcasm. Things were happening too fast. Even the prospect of being a lieutenant sounded intimidating.

"You don't sound too excited," Shunsui commented.

"I really shouldn't have unpacked."

.*****************************************************************************************.

**End Note:** Meanings of the embarrassing nicknames of the Rukongai gang:

Sukihara = Empty Stomach

Ninjin = Carrot

I wrote that scene so long ago I completely forgot which meaning for Kyoukou I had originally in mind. It was probably 'Panic.' It could have been 'Violence' too.


	15. Lieutenant

**Author's note:** Hello, dear readers. I know I threatened you with no updates for a long time, but when I finally decided how many chapters I should divide the troublesome part of the story into, it became obvious where to end chapter 15. It turned out pretty long considering how little actually happens there. I still have to figure out how to divide chapters 16 and 17, so the next update will probably take a while. Also, there's an artwork for this chapter on my DA profile, the link is on my author profile page.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**On the frozen plain**** -****Lieutenant**

.*****************************************************************************************.

Once the news of Hitsugaya's power was out, it spread like wildfire. Komamura mentioned to his old friend Tousen that he was going to have a new vice-captain finally and that the new guy supposedly had Bankai. Tousen was curious why a shinigami with Bankai was becoming only a lieutenant, when there were still two divisions without captains and even if Ichimaru passed the exam, there would still remain one empty spot. Komamura could only repeat Kyouraku's claim about Hitsugaya not being ready, which didn't sound too convincing. Tousen was of the opinion that a shinigami should take any position he is qualified for, no matter whether he feels ready or not, because serving the Soul Society to the best of one's abilities was the only right thing according to the Path of the Least Bloodshed. Komamura had to reluctantly agree. Also, Tousen mentioned what he had heard to several other captains and soon they were asking why the new guy with Bankai isn't nominated for the Captain's Exam, because the Gotei 13 really needed any captain they could find. It was really ironic, considering that most of them had refused to accept Hitsugaya into their divisions seven years ago citing his low age. Kyouraku had to agree with their logic, but he still didn't think that Hitsugaya was ready. Therefore he decided to do something to resolve the argument: hold an unofficial captain's exam for Hitsugaya to see whether he was ready for the real thing or not. And because there wasn't much time, he decided to hold it the next day, in his private training grounds. He invited Komamura and Ukitake as witnesses. Tousen was originally supposed to come too, but then some unforeseen situation arose in his division and he had to resolve it.

Hitsugaya was supposed to meet the three captains in a far corner of a rarely-used training area right after sunrise. It was quite unusual for Kyouraku to do anything but be deeply asleep at such an hour, so it made Hitsugaya anxious. Did he plan for the test to take so long? Or were the other captains morning people?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Kyouraku-taichou. The pink-clad man stepped out of a shunpo, greeted Hitsugaya with a nod, looked around to see that his colleagues hadn't arrived yet and then laid down under a nearby tree to catch up on his lost sleep. Hitsugaya sighed. Such behavior was pretty typical of Kyouraku, but it still irked everyone. It was no wonder that Ise-fukutaichou hit her superior so often. So Hitsugaya returned to waiting and wondering who was going to show up next.

It turned out to be Komamura. Or at least Hitsugaya assumed it was Komamura. He had never met the Seventh Division captain before, so he had no idea what did he look like. But he knew that this giant certainly wasn't Ukitake and nobody else was supposed to come.

Hitsugaya studied the captain intently. He was very interested in what his future superior was like. His first impression was that Komamura was big. Really, really big. Toushirou was used to looking up to see other people's faces, the only one he didn't have to look up to was Yachiru and even that was only when she wasn't riding on Kenpachi's back, which didn't happen that often. But looking at Komamura, he thought he was going to break his neck. The captain was that tall. And he was wearing pieces of armor on top of his uniform, giving him the appearance of somebody very physically strong. Hitsugaya couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated. He took a breath to compose himself. Getting scared before the testing even begun would reflect bad on him. An officer of Gotei 13 should be able to maintain a calm appearance no matter what.

His second impression was that Komamura's face was concealed under a helmet. Hitsugaya found it unsettling. He was used to seeing people's faces, even if his neck hurt if he looked up too much. But ever since his time in Rukongai and perhaps even before that, he knew that seeing people's faces and eyes was important. They told him who was the most likely to be hostile before they picked up the stones. So not being able to see somebody's face meant being unable to tell what they were thinking. There was always the option of observing the body language, but the loose clothing of shinigami tended to hide the subtle nuances. So faced with Komamura's expressionless mask, Toushirou felt unnerved.

Komamura was studying the person in front of him intently too. It was the first time the Seventh Division's Captain actually saw the shinigami he had agreed to take as his lieutenant. His first impression was that he was awfully small. Komamura was used to looking down on people, only the gate guardians were taller than him, but this time he was looking much lower than was usual. He reached only to the other captains' waists and that was including his hair, which was standing on its ends. On his back, he carried a sword that was so long it was almost dragging on the ground. Correction, it was dragging on the ground, Komamura thought as he saw the young shinigami step over a small mound in the grass. Combined with his round face and childishly wide eyes, it gave him the appearance of a child who was playing dress-up. Komamura understood how people would be more likely to ruffle his hair and give him lollipops than listen to his orders. Unfortunately he didn't bring a lollipop. It was a pity. The kid looked scared of him and some sweets should cheer him up.

Hitsugaya finally regained his bearings. He couldn't act like a child anymore, he berated himself. He was supposed to be a lieutenant now and soon even a captain, so he should be able to act calmly even when something scared him. And he should also be polite to his elders and superiors. He hadn't greeted the captain yet, which was rude. He immediately rectified it.

"Good morning, Captain Komamura," he said.

"Good morning," the giant answered. His voice was deep and echoed inside the helmet. The resulting effect was creepy. It nearly made Hitsugaya shiver. He felt that he should say something, but he didn't know what. And he didn't want to sound like an idiot, so he remained silent. They waited for the last person to arrive.

Ukitake showed up shortly after that. He looked bright and cheerful, almost too much for the early morning. Kyouraku somehow noticed his approach despite the white-haired captain being silent and woke up.

"Morning, Juu-kun," he greeted, still lying on his spot under the tree.

"Morning, Shunsui," Ukitake replied with a smile. "Morning, Komamura-taichou. Morning, Hitsugaya-kun." _At least he didn't say Shiro-chan, _Hitsugaya thought with relief, but he suspected he wasn't out of the woods yet. "So how do you feel?" the Thirteenth Division Captain asked.

"Good, thank you, Ukitake-taichou," Hitsugaya replied.

"I'm glad to hear that," the white-haired man smiled. He made a motion as if to reach into his sleeve and Hitsugaya braced himself for the inevitable onslaught of candy, but at that Moment Kyouraku stood up and spoke.

"Now that everybody's here, we can begin."

Ukitake nodded and straightened up. Hitsugaya sighed in relief. He was spared the candy, at least for now.

Kyouraku-taichou led them into his private training ground. Hitsugaya had never been there and he didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't a giant cave inside a small hill a short way from the training grounds they met at. He had no idea it was even there. In fact, he wasn't sure how did the cave fit there. The ceiling was certainly much higher than the top of the hill. Kyouraku must have noticed his befuddled expression, because he turned towards him with a small smile.

"Surprised?" he asked. Hitsugaya nodded.

"I had no idea something like this was here. Isn't it bigger than the hill?"

"It is," the pink-clad captain nodded. Upon seeing the boy's surprised face, he continued. "This is a separate dimension, connected with the rest of Soul Society only through the exit." Hitsugaya nodded. He recalled reading a mention about pocket dimensions in a book, but he never studied the subject in any depth. "If you should really become a captain, you should be familiar with such things." Hitsugaya looked down. He felt like he already failed the first test and the examination hadn't even begun yet. Captaincy suddenly seemed very intimidating. Even more than it already did. What other things he'd never heard about he was supposed to know?

"Don't look so down," Ukitake patted his shoulder. "You don't have to be able to create them, just to know how to use them. Nothing complicated about it. You should get it before the evening." The reassurance did little to settle Hitsugaya's nerves. He felt as anxious as if he was taking the real exam. It occurred to him that if he did well today, he might have to take the real thing soon, maybe even before the end of the month. It was an intimidating prospect. For a while, he considered failing the mock-exam on purpose, but the gathered captains would probably catch up on it. No, he would have to do his best and hope... for what? He realized he didn't know. He decided to just do his best and see what would happen.

"Now we're finally here, we can begin," the Eight Division Captain decided.

"Don't worry, Shiro-chan," Ukitake laid a hand on his shoulder. The patronizing treatment only irked Hitsugaya. "We'll start with something easy. The general knowledge test?" He looked questioningly at his colleagues. They both nodded. "Well, then. How well do you understand the principles of the Senkaimon?"

Hitsugaya began answering, but Kyouraku soon interrupted him with a question about the Severing Currents. Hitsugaya didn't know much about them. Then followed a question about the mechanics of reincarnation, then one about spiritually-aware humans, different types of Menos-class Hollows, the distribution of spirit particles in the Soul Society, politics, strategy, history and laws. Despite the number of questions, the examination didn't last long. The three captains were only checking whether Hitsugaya had an idea what it was about or not. Too often, his only answer was a blank stare. It made him feel young and stupid. Most of his education was concentrated on becoming a better warrior and gaining better control of his reiryoku and he wasn't putting much effort into studying matters that didn't concern him directly. Now he was realizing how much he didn't know and how much he'd have yet to learn. Though he wasn't sure whether he even had the clearance to know everything the three captains were asking.

Just when he was thinking that there was no reason to continue, because he was going to fail the exam horribly and the captains should just kick him out, Ukitake smiled at him kindly.

"Don't worry," the white-haired captain said. "Most people don't know this. A smart boy like you will learn it quickly. Now let's go to the practical part. Kidou first?" It was agreed. The captains asked him to perform some of the important spells, which Hitsugaya performed flawlessly. It restored his confidence. Maybe this wouldn't be a complete fiasco. Then they proceeded to ask him to demonstrate his most powerful Hadou and Bakudou and then show some combinations of spells, spells without incantations, spells cast silently and spells strengthened with follow-up incantations. Toushirou wished he knew what they thought about his performance. Kyouraku looked mildly interested, Ukitake was smiling encouragingly, but he did that all the time, and there was no telling what Komamura was thinking under his helmet.

"I noticed that you are much better at Bakudou than Hadou," Kyouraku observed. "I wonder why it is so."

"I consider Bakudou to be more useful, sir," Hitsugaya explained.

"Why so?" Ukitake asked.

"Hadou is used mostly in battle," the boy explained, "and when I fight, I use my zanpakutou as my primary weapon. In tough battles, there's no time for incantation and letting go of your sword to make the proper hand gestures. Such things can get a shinigami killed." He paused for a moment, glancing at Kyouraku-taichou. Did his words remind him of Isogai-fukutaichou? If so, he showed no sign of it, so Hitsugaya continued his explanation. "Bakudou has many uses that aren't direct combat. That's why I think I would use it more and so I studied it more." The three captains merely acknowledged it with a nod and decided to proceed with the next test.

Hohou exam was next. He had to show how fast he could shunpo, how far he could go in one step, how quickly he could follow up and how he could dodge. And once again he had no idea how he did in their eyes. After that Kyouraku announced that the easy part was over, scaring Toushirou. He was already feeling as if he had been put through the wringer. If they called this easy, he had no desire to find out what 'hard' was, but he had the sinking feeling that he was going to find out in the next few minutes.

It turned that the hard part was the Hakuda exam, in the form of actual combat against one of the captains. His shock must have shown on his face, because Ukitake smiled even more encouragingly and assured him that they'd go easy on him. Then the captains had a short discussion on who should fight in which exam and they agreed that the Hakuda fight would fall to Ukitake.

The two opponents stood facing each other. Ukitake looked completely relaxed, he was even still smiling in mild encouragement. Hitsugaya wished he could feel so much at ease. This was going to be his first time fighting against a real captain and it was one so strong and experienced as Ukitake. He couldn't help but think that he was going to get beaten in five seconds flat.

"Begin," Kyouraku said. Nothing happened. The two opponents were still watching each other intently.

"That was your cue," Ukitake said after a while of silence. "You have the first attack." Hitsugaya nodded and gulped. He still felt apprehensive about attacking a captain, but now he had no choice. He took a deep breath and sprung into action. Using all the speed and skills he learned in the Second, he rushed forward and aimed a kick at Ukitake's left knee. The captain sidestepped easily and threw a punch at Hitsugaya's head. The boy blocked, but the punch had more power behind it than he expected. His forearm reeled with pain. Before he could counterattack, Ukitake kicked at his stomach. Hitsugaya jumped back, barely avoiding the foot. He immediately moved again, expecting to be attacked, but Ukitake didn't move from his spot.

"Try again," The Thirteenth Division Captain prodded him. So Hitsugaya did. The fight continued on the same note for quite some time. Hitsugaya could clearly see that his opponent was toying with him, never capitalizing on his advantage. It rankled Hitsugaya's pride. Despite knowing that he never stood a chance, he felt humiliated. He considered kicking Ukitake's ribcage to see whether it would make him cough, but before he could try it, the captain decided that this fight was enough and followed through with one of his attacks. Hitsugaya blocked and evaded desperately, but couldn't match Ukitake's skill. Within seconds he was lying on the ground, trying to convince his badly aching ribs to take a breath.

"I think that's enough for Hakuda," Ukitake spoke. Both Kyouraku and Komamura agreed.

"Yeah," the pink-clad captain said. "Whenever you can get up, kiddo, we'll begin the kenjutsu part." Hitsugaya nodded mutely. He didn't trust himself to speak yet. He checked his ribs with a diagnostic kidou. Still in one piece. Good. Applying a little healing spell made them stop hurting. Soon he was prepared for the next exam.

"I'm ready," he announced climbing to his feet.

"Good," Kyouraku nodded unsheathing his tachi. "We shall begin then." Hitsugaya drew Hyourinmaru and took a stance opposite him. He was a bit irked that the captain didn't bother to remove his hat or the pink haori. Did he think so little of Hitsugaya's skills? The boy had no illusions about his chances, but such disregard still made him feel insulted. He felt a childish urge to destroy Kyouraku's fancy garments.

Unlike Ukitake, Kyouraku didn't allow him the first attack. He charged first, opening the fight with a sneak attack from behind. Hitsugaya barely sensed it in time to shunpo away.

"Not too bad," Kyouraku commented. "But not too good either. If I really meant the attack, I could have cut you in half." Hitsugaya didn't doubt it, but that didn't mean he liked hearing it. His eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Let's see how you'll deal with this," Kyouraku continued. Once again he moved with such speed that Hitsugaya could barely follow. He attacked Hitsugaya's left side. The boy just barely blocked, noting that the captain now held his tachi in his left hand. Hitsugaya blinked. When did he switch hands?

"That was slow and weak," Shunsui commented. "I almost cut through your zanpakutou." Hitsugaya scowled and attacked. Kyouraku batted his stab away lazily and hit him with his empty hand in the chest, sending him flying.

"Did you even mean this attack?" he commented. "A fresh recruit could do better." Hitsugaya glared daggers at him. Did the captain have to insult him? He was going to... he paused. He suddenly realized what was happening. Kyouraku was taunting him on purpose and he was letting him. That wouldn't do. He had to rein in his temper and fight with a clear head, otherwise he'd only make a fool of himself.

He took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. Kyouraku didn't allow him the time. He attacked again and once again Hitsugaya barely evaded. "That was pathetic," the older man commented and Hitsugaya could feel his temper rising again. _No!_ he told himself resolutely. He had to remain calm. It was hard, but he somehow managed. Kyouraku tried a few more insults, but he ceased his attempts when he saw they weren't working.

"Let's try something different," he suggested drawing his wakizashi. Hitsugaya gulped. It looked like things were about to get serious.

Kyouraku's attacks were fast, furious and unpredictable, yet the captain appeared to be barely trying. Hitsugaya had to apply all his skills to defend. Still, when Kyouraku finally decided it was enough, the boy was full of cuts and bruises and his only success was a tiny tear in the sleeve of Kyouraku's pink coat. _Better than nothing, _he tried to console himself.

After a short breather came time for the fight with shikai. His opponent was Komamura. Ukitake explained that it was because Komamura's shikai was the least dangerous of the three. If it was meant to reassure the boy, it failed.

The two combatants assumed their beginning stances.

"Todoroke, Tenken," Komamura commanded. Red fiery reiatsu appeared around him and an image of an ethereal giant arm holding a massive sword appeared and disappeared almost instantly. Hitsugaya briefly wondered what did it mean.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru," he called. The air around them cooled, frost appearing on the ground. This time Hitsugaya waited for nothing and attacked first. He swung his zanpakutou, sending an ice dragon flying at the masked captain. Komamura lifted his sword and the giant arm appeared again, perfectly mirroring his movements. He swung it against the dragon and the giant sword cut the ice in two, stopping the attack effectively. Hitsugaya had to admit that it was impressive. So how could he fight it?

Before he could come up with an answer, Komamura rushed at him, sword poised to strike. Hitsugaya shunpoed away. He didn't want to even try blocking this. He sent an attack at Komamura's back, but the helmeted captain turned around and blocked with the giant arm that conveniently appeared in a new place. Hitsugaya tried a few more times, with the same results. During the time he observed his opponents intently and realized something about his style. Despite Komamura probably not fighting at his full strength, Hitsugaya didn't feel completely outclassed here, like it had happened in his bouts with Ukitake and Kyouraku. That was a good boost for his confidence. Opponents only slightly stronger than him were beatable if he could find a flaw in their style. And he already noticed one in Komamura's. While Komamura's strength was overwhelming, he was a close-to-mid-range fighter and wasn't very fast. Hitsugaya was faster. That was something he could work with. He allowed himself a small smile as a strategy formed in his mind.

He swung Hyourinmaru, sending three dragons of ice flying at Komamura. The Seventh's captain lifted his sword to deal with them. That obscured his vision. Hitsugaya used the time to shunpo behind his back. He went very close to the captain, in the hopes that he wouldn't be able to use the giant arm so close to his own body. Now Komamura found himself attacked from both sides. He used his shikai to deal with the ice dragons and kicked blindly at Hitsugaya. But he was a split-second too slow. Before his armored boot could connect with Hitsugaya's body, the boy threw his chain-and-sickle blade. He hadn't used it in the fight before, so Komamura didn't know he had such ability. As the boot slammed into Hitsugaya's stomach, the chain was already circling his other calf. The crescent blade locked with the chain, entangling Komamura's leg securely. The captain didn't notice it until he felt a sharp tug, accompanied by a sudden sense of freezing cold. Even flying after Komamura's kick, Hitsugaya pushed his reiatsu into the chain. And the moment he landed, he gave a sharp tug to the chain.

He had hoped that he'd pull the leg from under him, but he had underestimated Komamura's resilience. The captain somehow managed to remain upright. He swung down his sword, trying to cut the chain with his shikai. Hitsugaya heard Hyourinmaru's pained roar when Tenken's blade impacted with the chain. The chain cracked, but didn't break. Hitsugaya sent more reiryoku into it, reforming the damaged part. Komamura struck again, this time with greater force. This time the chain barely held. Hitsugaya repaired it immediately, but it was obvious to him that he couldn't go on like this for long. He shunpoed to Komamura's other side, dragging the chain with him. Komamura's third strike hit only dirt.

Hitsugaya shunpoed again. He tried to wrap the captain in the chain completely, but Komamura saw through his plan. He managed to strike the chain in the air as the boy was making his round around him. The sudden pull threw Hitsugaya off balance and he fell to the ground. Before the boy could get up, the captain appeared above him. It was the first time he used shunpo in the whole fight. Hitsugaya noticed the blade poised to strike and his eyes widened in fear. He quickly lifted Hyourinmaru to his defense. Tenken's massive sword slashed down, slamming into Hyourinmaru's slender blade. Hitsugaya couldn't keep his grip on the hilt and the zanpakutou was wrenched from his grip. He closed his eyes. He expected to be cut in half. He didn't even have the time to attempt a shunpo.

When no pain came, he dared to open his eyes again. Komamura was still standing above him, Tenken's blade hovering a millimeter from his body. If he breathed too deeply, he would cut himself on the edge.

"I think that's enough," Ukitake spoke. Nobody disagreed. The fight was over. Hitsugaya retrieved his sword, shattering the ice enveloping Komamura's leg. The captain sighed in relief, examining his limb for damage. Hitsugaya noticed that as he walked to his place, he was limping slightly.

"Now there's only one part remaining," Ukitake announced. "It's the most important, but compared to those it should be easy."

"What is it?" the boy asked in apprehension.

"Bankai, of course," the white-haired man replied.

"Would I have to fight again?" Hitsugaya asked with worry. He wasn't sure he could still fight.

"No," Ukitake shook his head. "Just show us you have it."

"Shouldn't he have to right to keep its ability secret?" Komamura questioned.

"It's alright," Toushirou replied. "You won't be seeing anything my unit couldn't tell you about."

"I suppose it's alright then," Komamura stated.

"So show what you've got," Kyouraku prompted.

Hitsugaya took a deep breath, lifting his zanpakutou in front of him. "Bankai! Daiguren Hyourinmaru!" he called. Reiryoku swirled around him and the ice wings and tail formed on his back. He flapped his wings, taking to the air. He fired a couple of ice dragons at nothing in particular. They made deep dents into the ground and covered the surroundings of the impacts with ice. The cracking sound warned him that his ice flowers were shattering fast. It was no wonder. It was soon after his last activation of Bankai and he was tired and hurt. He landed quickly, dismissing his Bankai and sheathing his sword. Then he fell to his knees panting.

"That looked impressive," Ukitake commented.

"Thanks?" Toushirou wasn't sure what to think. He assumed that the white-haired captain would have said something reassuring no matter what he really thought about his performance. He supposed that compared to Ukitake's Kyouraku's and perhaps even Komamura's Bankai his wasn't that impressive.

"What were the shattering flowers?" Kyouraku inquired.

"It's a timer," Hitsugaya explained. "It shows how long I can keep the Bankai active. If they ran out, it deactivates on its own."

"A Bankai doesn't disappear until the wielder commands it or he is close to death," Komamura reminded them of a well-known rule.

"When it runs out, I feel that way," Hitsugaya replied. "Last time the flowers shattered completely and I passed out and lay in the Fourth for three days without having any other injury. Hyourinmaru says there is a limit on how long I can handle the energy and the flowers are there to ensure I don't push past it. Just nearing the limit means I'm barely able to stand."

"That's unheard of," Komamura commented.

"It's highly irregular," Kyouraku agreed, "but who says it's impossible? Every zanpakutou is unique. Look at my Katen Kyoukotsu. No one else has a zanpakutou with two blades in its sealed form. It baffled lots of smart people back when I first summoned it." He chuckled, as if recalling a particularly amusing event. "Now people just take it as a fact. Bankai with a timer isn't half as odd."

"That's true," Komamura agreed.

"I noticed the flowers break fast," Ukitake commented.

"That's true," Hitsugaya confirmed. "I'll have to train a lot to make it last longer."

"But if you can use it only for a minute, wasn't it rash to use it in battle?" the white-haired captain questioned.

"Perhaps," Hitsugaya shrugged, "but trying to block a Menos' Cero with just my shikai doesn't sound any less rash. And dodging was out of the question, because then the Cero would hit the group of my wounded subordinates. They couldn't see it was aimed for them and the unconscious ones couldn't dodge. And I couldn't get them all out of the way in time. So using Bankai and finishing the battle quickly was my best bet. I could cut the Menos with just my shikai so I was confident that with Bankai I could purify it in a couple of hits." The captains nodded, not showing what they thought about his explanation.

"Still, with that level of power you should have been able to block it with just your shikai," Kyouraku said. "Using your strongest attack should have pushed the Cero back."

"You think so?" Hitsugaya questioned not too convinced.

"Yes, I think so," the pink-clad captain confirmed. "You could have defeated the Menos with just your shikai. Using your Bankai when you knew it was going to make you unable to fight soon was a tactical error. What if you had missed the Menos? Or what if you have purified it, but the other strong Hollow still remained and you were unable to fight anymore? Or what if you were too slow in calling for your Bankai and were hit before you could block? That almost happened, didn't it?" Hitsugaya nodded mutely. He was imagining how the fight could have easily gone. Both his ice wings and his attack hadn't formed completely by the time the Cero hit. And he had felt the hit a lot.

"Don't be so harsh on him," Ukitake said. "He won, so there's no need to criticize him."

"No," Hitsugaya shook his head. He remembered wanting to help Tanaka and fainting before he could do anything. What if the last Hollow surviving hadn't been the weakest one but a strong one? Considering the trouble his unit had with the Giant Hollow, they would have been all doomed. "I'm honored to hear Kyouraku-taichou's opinion on my fight. Everything he said is correct. I'll be careful not to make the same mistake the next time I run into a Menos."

"You don't have to be so formal, Shiro-chan," Ukitake smiled. Hitsugaya had to bite his tongue not to yell at him.

"How many times did you release your Bankai?" Kyouraku wanted to know. He also wanted to distract his companions before they could start arguing.

"This was the fourth time," Hitsugaya answered. "The first time was when I achieved it. I was wounded and exhausted then and it lasted only seconds. Second time I released it for training. I wanted to get a better idea of how did it work. Third time was in the battle." Kyouraku merely nodded in acknowledgement.

"Any other questions?" Ukitake asked. Kyouraku and Komamura shook their heads. "Then that's all for today," The Thirteenth's captain decided. "You did well, Shiro-chan," he turned to the white-haired boy. "Here, have some candy." And then he pulled bags and bags of sweets and piled them in Hitsugaya's arms. The boy was glad that Ukitake had restrained himself for so long. Toushirou could just stare in wonder how did it all fit in. "Go take a rest now," Ukitake suggested. Hitsugaya complied. He dragged himself to his room, noting that it was already evening, funny, so the exam really took all day, dropped the pile of sweets on the ground and fell asleep almost as soon as he hit the pillow.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"So what did you think?" Kyouraku asked when Hitsugaya left the training grounds.

"Quite good for such a little one," Ukitake commented. "I didn't expect him to actually wound a captain."

"He surprised me," Komamura muttered.

"Even that is a valid strategy," Shunsui pointed out "To me, it looked like he was purposefully hiding that ability so he could use it when he was sure he would hit. Quite clever of him."

"Still, even with the advantage of surprise, all he managed was a flesh wound," Ukitake said. Komamura looked at his leg ruefully. The numbness of the ice was slowly receding and it was beginning to hurt. A lot.

"He has still a lot to learn," he said.

"Agreed," Kyouraku nodded. "He has power, lots of it, maybe even more than some of the current captains, but his skills aren't on captain's level yet."

"He meets the minimal requirement on every single discipline, but his overall combat ability isn't enough. And that's without taking his inexperience into question," Ukitake added.

"And he also has some studying to do," Komamura added. "A captain needs more knowledge."

"Zaraki's doing well without it," Shunsui remarked. "It's overrated. We don't need it that often."

"But sometimes it comes handy," Ukitake said.

"We digress," Komamura pointed out. "We should decide whether we'd suggest him for the Captain's Exam or not."

"Is there really any question?" Kyouraku asked. "The answer is obvious."

"I guess it is," the helmeted captain sighed.

"Why so sad?" Ukitake raised an eyebrow. "You should be glad you got a new lieutenant."

"I am," Komamura replied. "I didn't have a really good lieutenant in a long time. I just hoped the last empty spot among the captains could be filled."

"It will be," Kyouraku shrugged. "It will just take a little longer. Knowing the little one, it might be sooner than we think."

.*****************************************************************************************.

"I don't believe it," Touji shook her head when she heard the news. "You are going to be a lieutenant?"

"Yes," Hitsugaya replied.

"Why do you look so surprised?" Minamoto asked Touji. "You saw how he defeated the Menos. He deserves the rank."

"Yes, but I still can't believe it," the blue-haired woman answered.

"Then what would you believe if not your own eyes?" Minamoto pushed.

"Oh, I don't disbelieve that he defeated the Menos, just that he's getting promoted," Touji explained. "Can you honestly imagine this shrimp as a lieutenant?"

"I can," Takahashi said.

"Nobody asked you," Narimi snapped.

"But she's right," Ueshiba intervened. "He managed to keep this unit under control. He managed to keep you under control. Keeping a whole division under control shouldn't be much harder." Several people chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Touji scowled.

"Nothing," Ueshiba shrugged, somehow managing to look perfectly innocent. Touji scowled harder.

"You know, if you don't stop scowling, you'd get wrinkles," Minamoto pointed out.

"Don't tell me what to do." Touji shot him a dirty glare, but she stopped scowling. Then she turned to Hitsugaya. "I still can't believe that you're going to be a lieutenant. And in the Seventh, no less! Do you even know what they are like? They're Men." She said it with capital letter. "Manly men. A kid like you stands no chance there."

Minamoto chuckled. "Careful, Narimi. You almost sounded like you were worried about him."

"Shut up," Touji barked.

"I assure you I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Hitsugaya stated.

"You're saying that now," the blue-haired Eleventh Seat scoffed. "You won't be so cocky once you actually get there."

Hitsugaya just shrugged. "I've survived you, I've survived in the Second, I've survived the Third, I've even survived in the Eleventh. The Seventh should be a breeze."

"You're too cocky," Touji scoffed.

"What was so bad in the Third?" Wasabi inquired.

"I just think I can handle it," Hitsugaya answered Touji. Then he turned to Wasabi. "You don't really want to know," he said in a somber voice. Wasabi felt shivers running along his spine, without really knowing why.

"I don't see why are you so against Hitsugaya's promotion," Kuno stated. "When he gets out of here, it means you'll be in command here, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Hitsugaya confirmed. "Kyouraku-taichou mentioned it."

"So you're finally getting what you wanted," Kuno continued. "You should be happy, not grumpy. You might even be promoted to a Tenth Seat soon."

That immediately improved Touji's mood. She stopped scowling, looking contemplatively for a moment, before breaking into a wide grin. "That's true," she said. "I'm finally going to be in command here. I can finally turn this unit into a true elite combat unit and show everybody what a great commander I am!" Several people rolled their eyes. "Times of lazing around are over! Now we are going to start training!"

"You and your crazy ideas," Yamada muttered.

"That's going to be some nonsense," Tanaka voiced his opinion.

"Like anyone would listen to you," Minamoto grumbled.

Touji released her reiatsu on them. "You are my subordinates and you are going to obey," she thundered.

"Sure," Ueshiba said with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Hitsugaya couldn't help but break a small smile at their antics. "Well," he said, "it looks like you're going to have a harder time here than I in the Seventh."

.*****************************************************************************************.

The Lieutenants' Qualifications Exams were a breeze, at least for Hitsugaya. Hinamori, who was taking them at the same time, struggled but passed, mostly thanks to her high Kidou scores. Hitsugaya felt he could have done them in his sleep. Well, that might be exaggerating a bit, but compared to what Kyouraku, Ukitake and Komamura had put him through, this was a walk in the park.

Not long after the Exams, the official appointments were made. It began when two official assignation letters were delivered to the two future lieutenants followed by the announcement of when the official induction ceremony was going to take place. The spot was the same for all official lieutenants' induction ceremonies: in the captains' meeting hall in the First Division compound. It was a place Hitsugaya had never visited before, despite knowing the better part of Seireitei, so he was naturally curious about it.

His first impression was that the First Division compound was grand. There was just no better word for it. During his stays in various divisions, he learned that though the barracks might look different, there were some features they all had in common. One of such things was the size. The main entrance looked the same, the only difference being the number painted on it. It might shine with fresh paint in the Second or be covered in cuts from numerous swordfights happening around it at the Eleventh, but otherwise it was the same door everywhere. Not so at the First. The front gate was big. It was twice as tall and twice as wide as the front gates of other divisions. It was clearly made that way to impress the visitors. But Hitsugaya wasn't very impressed. It was just a big door, after all. But, he admitted reluctantly, it made him feel small.

The guards at the gate looked at him suspiciously, but when he showed them his assignation letter, they let him in. Inside, things weren't as big as the door suggested, but everything still looked better than in other divisions. The walls were whiter, the gardens better-kept and the shinigami wore their white jackets with square pattern at the hem with pride, showing off the symbol of their status as the members of Soutaichou's division and therefore being better than all other divisions. Hitsugaya immediately disliked them for that. He had lots of bad experience with people who considered themselves better than others. But he made sure it didn't show on his face. He had to make a good impression today.

He headed towards the meeting room only to stop after ten steps when he realized that he had no idea where his destination was. And there weren't any maps and floor plans readily available within the division barracks. Either you knew where you were going or you had no business being there was the philosophy of Gotei 13. So left with no other options, Hitsugaya asked for directions. The old man looked at him down his nose, but described the way so Hitsugaya was able to find the meeting room, having taken a wrong turn only twice.

When he finally arrived to the anteroom he was supposed to wait in, he saw that Momo was already there. The girl was literally bouncing with excitement.

"Hello, Shiro-chan!" she called when she noticed his arrival. Hitsugaya scowled.

"I told you not to call me that."

Hinamori rolled her eyes. "How can you be so grumpy today, Toushirou?"

"Because you called me that," Hitsugaya retorted.

"You're really too touchy," Momo commented. "But really, how can you not be happy today? I'm so excited. I'm going to work with Aizen-taichou!"

"You and your precious Aizen-taichou," Toushirou grumbled. The girl ignored him completely.

"I've dreamt of it for so long and now it's finally happening! I still can't believe it!"

"I can't believe it either," Hitsugaya muttered. Though Hinamori had passed the Lieutenant's Proficiency Test, it was just barely. That made her not ready for the position yet. He couldn't believe there was nobody better. What about the Third and Fourth Seats in the Fifth Division? Weren't they any good? Hitsugaya never met them so he didn't know. Maybe they were old people who had reached the peak of their potential long ago. Hinamori was still young and improving, so she was going to make it to solid lieutenant level, but it would still take years. She shouldn't have been promoted until then, but he understood that having no lieutenant was bad for the division. He just hoped that Hinamori wouldn't crack under the pressure.

He barely listened as Momo sang praises to Aizen before she stopped. The anteroom became quiet for a while, the silence only disturbed by Hinamori's footsteps, as she couldn't stand still. Hitsugaya did his best to ignore her, but it was nigh impossible. Momo was nearly bursting in excitement, pacing around the room. It irked Hitsugaya. He was trying to keep his calm and it was getting increasingly harder the more his friend danced around him. And then she broke the silence again.

"I can't believe it," the girl stated, shaking her head in disbelief. "How long it's been since you told me you didn't want to be a lieutenant? A month?"

"I think a little longer," Hitsugaya corrected her. "And I still don't."

"Well, it's too late to do anything about that now, isn't it?" Momo said eyeing the door behind which the ceremony would take place. They could feel numerous powerful reiatsu on the other side, signaling that most of the command of Gotei 13 had arrived. They were waiting only for the last few stragglers before the ceremony could begin.

"I guess it is," he shrugged. "And congratulations to you too."

"Thanks," she beamed. "I was so scared I won't do it, but then Aizen-taichou smiled at me and told me he believed in me and suddenly everything seemed so easy! Did it seem easy to you too or was it just me?"

"It did," Hitsugaya answered. Compared to what Kyouraku, Ukitake and Komamura had put him through, the Lieutenant's Exam was a breeze.

"Now I think of it, you're transferring again," Momo said. "And it isn't into the Fifth Division. And you've promised me that the next time we'll be together."

"I don't remember promising anything like that," Hitsugaya answered. "And I can't come to the Fifth now we're both lieutenants. That would mean you wouldn't be able to be Aizen's fukutaichou."

"So you think you are better than me?" she questioned.

"Yes," he nodded.

"You didn't have to say it so bluntly," Hinamori pouted.

"Our test results said so," Hitsugaya tried to shift the blame to a third party. It only made the girl pout harder. "Uh... sorry, Momo," Toushirou tried to apologize. "I didn't mean to say that you are weak, just that..."

"But you said it," she interrupted.

"Sorry."

"Hmph. I'm going to show you that I'm better than you. I'm going to be a better lieutenant. You might be stronger, but how well can you lead your division? How can you inspire your men? How can you make them like you? I bet I'm going to be better at that than you can ever dream of."

"Do your best," Hitsugaya replied. Hinamori's tirade cut close to home. He was really worried about how he was going to convince his new subordinates that he was worthy of his position. For Hinamori, getting everyone to like her and do whatever she wanted was as natural as breathing. She probably didn't even realize she was doing it. For him, it was something he never got the hang of. But he was becoming the Seventh's lieutenant to learn it. Maybe he should get some tips from Hinamori.

Before either of them could say anything else, the door opened and the lean figure of Sasakibe-fukutaichou appeared. He motioned them to come in, signaling that the inauguration ceremony was about to begin. The two youngsters followed the aged man into the meeting room.

Though the room itself was rather plain, it still was a sight to behold. All the current captains and their seconds were gathered. The first: General Yamamoto and Lieutenant Sasakibe. The second: Captain Soifon and Lieutenant Oomaeda. The Third: the new captain Ichimaru and the old lieutenant Iba. The Fourth: Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Kotetsu Isane. Hitsugaya had no idea what had happened to Yamada Seinosuke, but he was glad the man was gone. He was sure that the sentiment was shared by many of his former subordinates. The Fifth: Captain Aizen. The Sixth: Captain Kuchiki and Lieutenant Shirogane. The Seventh: Captain Komamura. The Eighth: Captain Kyouraku and Lieutenant Ise. The Ninth: Captain Tousen and Lieutenant Hisagi. The Tenth: Lieutenant Yokoyama. The Eleventh: Kenpachi and Yachiru. The Twelfth: Captain Kurotsuchi and his 'daughter' Nemu. The Thirteenth: Captain Ukitake and Lieutenant Shiba.

They stopped in the centre of the room. Having the eyes of so many powerful and important shinigami focused on him made Hitsugaya feel very young and small. Even Hinamori stopped bouncing and stood quietly. They both bowed to the Soutaichou. Then the aged general tapped his cane on the floor, announcing that the ceremony had begun. Then he started speaking.

Yamamoto-soutaichou was holding a speech about the honor bestowed on them by allowing them to become lieutenants, about the duties they were expected to perform to their best, about how they were now representing their divisions, how they were supposed to lead by example, how they had to be one of the best in the Gotei 13, yadda, yadda, yadda... Hitsugaya had to stifle a yawn forcibly. The old guy's speech was boring. Big time. It was even more boring that the speech he had given to the Academy graduates some seven years ago or so. He basically kept repeating the same thing, only phrasing it differently. And his voice was a droning monotone, only occasionally changing into an old-people-raspy one. How could anyone stand it without falling asleep? Though, as Hitsugaya covertly glanced at the assembled captains, most of them looked to be asleep while standing perfectly upright. Only their closed eyes gave them away. He wished he could sleep while standing too. And wake up on cue once Yamamoto was finished. Considering that he was probably going to attend a lot more captains' meetings in the not so distant future, it was a skill he should invest into learning. But for now, he should concentrate on pretending to pay attention.

Finally, when Toushirou had a very hard time stifling a yawn, Yamamoto fell silent. He tapped his cane on the floor and everybody sprang into attention. It really gave off the impression that they had been asleep until he woke them up.

Now came the most important part of the whole ceremony – presenting them with their lieutenant's badges. Aizen and Komamura stepped forward, holding the badges for their respective divisions.

Komamura had to bow down to fasten the badge on Hitsugaya's arm. "Congratulations," he said simply.

"Thank you," Hitsugaya replied.

He didn't catch what Aizen said to Hinamori, but it made the girl ecstatic again. "Thank you, Aizen-taichou," she practically shouted. "I'm going to be the perfect lieutenant, I'm going to do whatever you say, I'm going to do all the paperwork and train the division and..." Somebody, probably Unohana, coughed, interrupting the girl's babbling. Momo fell silent, realizing that she sounded like an overexcited child. She blushed deeply. Well, even deeper than she was blushing just from being so close to her precious Aizen-taichou.

After that, Yamamoto tapped his cane on the floor and held another speech, this one thankfully shorter, but just as boring and repetitive as the first one. Fortunately it was the last of his speeches for the day. Another tap of the cane announced that the official part of the ceremony ended.

After the induction ceremony was over, (not a second too soon in Hitsugaya's opinion), the captains and lieutenants came to congratulate them and greet them personally.

Yamamoto-soutaichou barely looked at them, saying that they should strive to make their divisions proud. His lieutenant (whose name escaped Hitsugaya's mind) congratulated them politely and said he was looking forward to cooperating with them. It sounded completely bland and unemotional.

"It's good to see another woman in a high position," Soifon said to Hinamori. The girl blushed under her praise. "There aren't enough of us. I hope you'll make all the women of Gotei 13 proud."

"I will," Momo promised solemnly, with a look she usually reserved for Captain Aizen. Soifon barely acknowledged her with a nod before turning to Hitsugaya.

"And you, so you actually made lieutenant? Maybe you are good for something, as long as you don't fall asleep on duty." Hitsugaya blushed under the questioning gazes of most people in the room. It's been four years and Soifon still remembered that? And she had to bring it up? He hoped that the next 'congratulations' would be better, but that didn't seem likely because Ichimaru was already lined up, his grin even more mischievous than usual. And before him there came Oomaeda.

"Good work," the fat man mumbled between bites of his rice crackers and patted both Hinamori's and Hitsugaya's shoulders with his greasy palm, soiling their uniforms, before walking away. And just so the two new lieutenants wouldn't feel neglected, he showered them in crumbs and spit as a parting gift. Hinamori shot him a death glare before trying to clean herself. Hitsugaya, being used to the Nibantai fukutaichou, took it more stoically.

The newly-minted captain of the Third Division offered them one of his trademark grins. It was enough to make Hitsugaya's hair stand on their ends. Hinamori had no such reaction. She was used to Ichimaru. "Hiya, Momo-chan, Shiro-chan." Hitsugaya scowled. He was sure Ichimaru used the hated nickname just to piss him off. It was working. Toushirou tried hard to keep his calm, but it proved nigh impossible when faced with the persistent grin. Thankfully for now the grin turned away to face Hinamori.

"So Momo, yer my replacement. Who woulda thought?" He cocked his head to the side. "D'ya think ya can be as good as me?"

"I'll do my best," Hinamori replied. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself. Having Ichimaru's attention focused on her unnerved her despite all her practice in dealing with him.

"I'd like to see ya try," Ichimaru grinned. It made the sentence sound more like 'I'd like to see you fail spectacularly.' Momo flustered, but the silver-haired man was already done with her.

He turned to Hitsugaya. He leaned down like an adult talking to a child. Hitsugaya immediately disliked the gesture. It showed on his face, which made Ichimaru grin wider. _If he grins any wider, his head is going to split, _Toushirou thought.

"So, Shiro-chan," Ichimaru drawled, "you made a fukutaichou too. Just as expected from the child prodigy. But ain't ya afraid of being paired with such a big captain?"

"Uh... what?" Hitsugaya didn't get what Ichimaru was talking about, so this was the most articulate answer he could muster. He hated the fact that the grinning man could throw him so off-balance with just one question.

"Well, he's so much bigger than ya. Ain't ya afraid he'd step on ya accidentally?"

"No," Hitsugaya replied, trying to keep his voice even and his urge to punch Ichimaru in the face in check. It was made worse by the fact that Hitsugaya really felt intimidated by Komamura's size.

"Well, ya should be. He could crush ya without even trying," Gin smiled. Behind him, Iba-fukutaichou scowled, but she didn't dare to scold her captain in public.

"I can take care of myself," Hitsugaya said. Ichimaru ignored him.

"Ya know what ya should do? Ya should ride on Komamura's shoulder like Yachiru rides on Kenpachi," Gin suggested with a happy smile.

"What?" Hitsugaya was almost certain he had heard wrong. Almost. He was talking to Ichimaru after all.

"Yer so small he won't even notice ya sitting on his back," Gin continued. Hitsugaya wracked his brain for something he could reply to this without being rude.

"No," was all he could come up with.

"But ya shoud do it," the Third Division captain insisted. "Komamura's so big and he walks fast. Ya won't be able to keep up with him with these short legs of yers. Yer hafta run everywhere and yer be constantly tired." Hitsugaya wanted to shout at Ichimaru, but then he realized that the silver-haired man actually had a point. It was going to be hard to walk at the same pace as Komamura and still look dignified. Ichimaru watched with amusement as the realization dawned in Toushirou's eyes. "Ya see I'm right?" he grinned smugly. "Ya should jump on Komamura's back before ya lose sight of him." Then he straightened up and walked away. Hitsugaya couldn't suppress the sigh of relief. He didn't know what would have happened if he had to talk to Ichimaru even a minute longer.

Then it was Iba Chikane's turn to say her congratulations. The aging woman looked a bit embarrassed, not to knowing how to apologize for her captain's conduct. She silently swore to set him right.

"Congratulations, Hinamori-fukutaichou, Hitsugaya-fukutaichou," she said, the embarrassment still apparent in her voice. It made Ichimaru grin wider, but she couldn't see that. "It's good to see the new generation rising up and taking its place among the elite. I hope you will both do well."

"I will," Momo smiled.

Thank you," Hitsugaya said.

After that, Iba Chikane rushed off, already plotting how to teach her taichou to behave. After she had successfully raised her little Tetsuzaemon, how much harder could this be?

The next in line stepped forward to speak with the two youngsters.

"Congratulations to both of you," Unohana said in her best motherly tone. "You did a wonderful job becoming lieutenants so fast. I hope you'll continue this stellar performance in the future." There was a faint hint of 'or else' in her voice.

"Thank you, Unohana-taichou. I will," Momo swore solemnly before Unohana could smile at her.

"Thank you," Hitsugaya said. Unohana smiled and left.

"Congratulations," Kotetsu-fukutaichou said. She bowed down to get closer to him when talking to him. Usually Hitsugaya would consider the gesture offensive, but when Isane did it, it looked as if she was apologizing for being tall. And knowing her, she probably was. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

"I too," Momo smiled.

"Thank you," Hitsugaya said.

Captain Aizen was standing behind Momo, so the next in line was the Sixth Division leadership.

Captain Kuchiki gave the perfect impression of a noble who couldn't be bothered to care about the affairs of peasants, no matter how high rank they achieved. "Congratulations," he said so he wouldn't look impolite and left, not sparing them another thought.

"Congratulations, you two," Shirogane-fukutaichou said. "I'm looking forward to seeing you at the meetings." Then he sent them an apologetic smile and rushed after his superior. Then it was the Eighth Division's turn.

"Good work, both of you," Captain Kyouraku smiled, for once looking sober. "We have to have a drink sometimes," he added ogling Hinamori. Nanao smacked him with her fan.

"You aren't going to teach children to drink," she admonished him. "And you aren't going to ogle them either." Then she turned to the two new lieutenants. "Well, congratulations on a job well done. I hope you'll both do well. You're certainly going to have it easier than I do."

"That was cold, Nanao-chan," Shunsui pouted. It earned him another smack.

"Thank you, Ise-fukutaichou. I'll do my best," Hitsugaya said, wondering what odd quirk would Komamura turn out to have. Getting to serve under the perfect captain would be too much luck for his usual standards.

"Thank you, Ise-fukutaichou," Momo beamed. "I'm so glad I'm now of the same rank as you. I've always admired you, you know?"

"Yes," Nanao replied. She had noticed during the SWA meetings. Momo always strived to surpass her own proficiency in Kidou. But this wasn't the time and place for lengthy discussions. Nanao bid her farewells and left the floor to the captain of the Ninth.

"Now that the two of you are lieutenants of the Gotei 13, remember to always uphold Justice. Without Justice, there would be no order. As the lieutenants of your division, you must serve as an example for your subordinates. Always teach them about Justice and lead them along the Path of the Least Bloodshed..." Hitsugaya and Hinamori exchanged tormented glances. How long was the blind captain going to prattle? It's been already ten minutes. It was getting repetitive. Another minute and it would become even worse than Yamamoto's speeches. And after enduring two of them today, Hitsugaya doubted he had enough patience for a third one. Lieutenant Hisagi smiled at them apologetically. It made the boy pity him. Did the Ninth Division fukutaichou have to listen to this regularly?

Then, when Hinamori looked asleep on her feet and Hitsugaya thought that one more word and he was going to scream, propriety be damned, Tousen finally concluded his speech, probably because his throat was dry, and left the floor to his second-in-command.

"Well, I won't bore you with long speeches," Hisagi said when it was finally his turn, "so I'll just say congratulations, both of you. Especially you, Hinamori. You came a long way since we first met."

"Thank you," Momo blushed.

"Thank you," Hitsugaya echoed with less infatuation. He couldn't wait when the formalities would be finally over. Tousen's speech hadn't depleted his patience reserves completely, but there were only drops left now. But there were still seven people left to congratulate them. Fortunately Hisagi stood true to his word and didn't bother them anymore. The next in line stepped forward.

The Tenth Division fukutaichou looked familiar, but Hitsugaya couldn't place him. But it could have been just his imagination. Toushirou was sure he would have remembered somebody with this kind of scar on his cheek. He decided not to worry about it for the time being. Making a good impression was more important. Because if he ever really made captain, this man was going to become his second. It would be advantageous to create a good relationship between them now.

"Good work on becoming lieutenants so young, both of you," Yokoyama said with a kind smile. "It is a tough job, even if you have a captain in your division. If you ever needed help, don't be shy to ask." The last sentence seemed to be aimed at Hitsugaya more than at Hinamori. These were kind words, but Hitsugaya didn't like the tone they were spoken in. Like the older lieutenant considered it a given that Hitsugaya would be unable to hold his new position on his own merit and was going to need lots of help all the time. But to be honest, Hitsugaya himself was sure that he was going to need some help on occasions, so he tried not to feel too insulted at Yokoyama's words.

"Thank you," Hinamori said, as if it was normal to be offered insultingly patronizing help. But to her, being offered help was probably normal.

"Thank you for your offer, Yokoyama-fukutaichou," he said, struggling not to grit his teeth in the process. This wasn't a bad first meeting, he reasoned. At least Yokoyama didn't outright despise him or fear him or something. If he'd be a good lieutenant, he'd eventually convince the older man to respect him.

"Well, I hope you'll both do well," Yokoyama said before leaving. It was now the turn of the Eleventh Division.

Zaraki glanced at Hinamori, looking unimpressed. "Looks like a wimp," he muttered. Momo flushed.

"She's fun at the SWA meetings," Yachiru said.

"Well, I suppose congratulations," Zaraki grumbled.

"Thank you," Hinamori said coolly. It was obvious she didn't like the brutish man. Kenpachi didn't care about her opinion one bit.

"Good job, Peachy-chan!" Yachiru called.

"Thanks," Momo smiled. Then the Eleventh Division duo moved to Hitsugaya.

Zaraki slammed his palm on Hitsugaya's shoulder, making the boy wince. "Good job, kid," he grinned. "Keep up the good work and we can have the fight soon." Momo stared at them wide-eyed.

"Yes!" Yachiru squealed. "Snowie-chan will play with Ken-chan!" Hitsugaya gulped. 'Playing' with Kenpachi was something he had no desire to do, but he wasn't going to let the prospect intimidate him.

"Thank you. I'll consider it," the boy replied calmly.

"Forget about considering and just come," Kenpachi said before moving away. Then it was Kurotsuchi's turn.

The Twelfth Division captain ignored Momo completely and walked straight to Hitsugaya. Hinamori looked part offended at being ignored and part glad that she didn't have to deal with him. Kurotsuchi leaned down a bit, as if to take a better look at Hitsugaya. The boy immediately felt very uncomfortable. "Somebody with this kind of power at this age? That's very interesting," Kurotsuchi Mayuri said, eyeing Hitsugaya like a hungry wolf would eye a piece of meat. It made the boy very nervous. "I'd like to research it very much. Please come to the SRDI tomorrow." _Like hell, _Hitsugaya thought. He had no desire to get dissected to satisfy the mad scientist's curiosity. He was probably supposed to say something polite now, but faced with Kurotsuchi's leer, all his manners left him.

"No."

"No?" the Twelfth Division Captain looked more taken aback than offended, but that changed quickly. His grotesquely painted face changed into an ugly sneer. Hitsugaya took a step back. "How dare you? I'm offering you to help the advancement of science and you dare to refuse? You insolent whelp!"

"That's enough," Ukitake-taichou intervened. The look he sent Mayuri mare the mad scientist scramble away in shock. He quickly regained his bearings and glared at Ukitake. The older captain stared back calmly.

"Let's go, Nemu," Kurotsuchi said after a minute and his lieutenant followed him out of the room silently.

"Sorry about them," Ukitake said apologetically. "Here, have some candy, that will make you feel better." And then he pushed what seemed like a ton of candy into Hitsugaya's arms. Then, as an afterthought, he gave some to Hinamori too so the girl wouldn't feel left out.

"Good work, both of you," he smiled. "Do a good work and don't be shy to come for more candy anytime."

Hitsugaya looked at the pile of candy in his arms with confusion. The shock over Kurotsuchi's outburst wore off and now irritation replaced it. Why did Captain Ukitake give him all that? It wasn't like he liked this candy, there was no amanattou. And why did Ukitake have to heap it on him in public? Didn't he realize how humiliating it was? He was a lieutenant now, he was supposed to be a figure of authority, but how was he supposed to command any respect when he was holding on bags of candy like a little kid? The situation would have been worse only if he did it in front of his new subordinates. But he did it in front of the highest officers of the Gotei 13 instead. On second thought, maybe this was worse. And Hinamori next to him looked perfectly happy, obviously pondering which ones to eat first.

"What's with this face?" a loud voice snapped him from his musings. Hitsugaya looked up and found himself staring into the face of the Thirteenth's lieutenant. "You got promoted, you got candy, so smile," Shiba Kaien advised pinching Toushirou's cheek. The boy frowned harder. Why did everybody insist on treating him like a kid? "Cheer up," the older fukutaichou suggested and ruffled his hair. "If you continue to scowl, your face will get permanently stuck this way and that would be a shame." Hitsugaya tried not to glare at him, but it was very hard. Especially when he heard Hinamori's muffled chuckling. He shot her a dirty glare instead.

"You should really come visit sometimes, both of you," Kaien continued. "Thirteenth is a nice place. We can talk properly there. Well, I won't bother you anymore. So see ya!" the lieutenant called and left.

Then it was finally over. There was no-one else left to congratulate them. Hitsugaya sighed in relief. It was time to go.

"It's only us here now," Aizen said, "so we shouldn't dawdle here. And congratulations for the good job, Hitsugaya-kun. I think we can expect great things of you."

"Thank you," Hitsugaya said neutrally. Now he met the Fifth Division Captain in person, he had to admit that he really looked like a nice guy. But Hitsugaya didn't like the way Hinamori stood behind Aizen, like a puppy eagerly awaiting its master's orders. The boy suspected that the bespectacled man enjoyed it secretly. Why else he wouldn't tell Momo to stop it before she embarrassed herself?

"Well, I won't hold you any longer," Aizen said. "We have a lot work to do back in the office and I'm sure you do too." Then he said his farewells and left, Hinamori trailing on his heels, looking indeed like an overexcited puppy.

"We'll be going too," Komamura said. "Time to introduce you to the division." Hitsugaya suddenly didn't feel so relieved anymore.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The introduction to his new division took place in the mess hall. Thanks to its limited capacity, only seated officers were present. When Hitsugaya looked at the rows of assembled shinigami, Hitsugaya understood what it meant when they said that the Seventh was manly. Everybody here looked manly. Even the women, which was a bit creepy. They were all tough warriors. Everybody seemed tall, broad and muscular and proudly displaying whatever scars they had acquired during their undoubtedly long and eventful careers. And they were all eyeing Hitsugaya with doubt. He couldn't begrudge them. Compared to them, he looked like some child playing dress-up. His small stature was even more apparent next to the giant stature of Komamura-taichou. And under their scrutinizing glares, he began even feel like a child who had no business being in their exalted company. He took a deep breath to compose himself. It just wouldn't do to start shaking with anxiety now. He had to remind himself that he was their lieutenant for a reason, that he had Bankai and that he could defeat any of them or even a lot of them at once without trouble. It didn't matter that they were bigger and older, because he was stronger. He stood straighter. He had to show confidence if he wanted them to respect him.

He listened absent-mindedly as Komamura introduced him to the division. Then the captain stopped speaking and Hitsugaya realized that it was his turn to say something. _I should have written a speech, _he thought. But he hadn't realized he was going to need it. He hadn't been named lieutenant before. He wondered whether Hinamori was having the same problem now. Probably not. She always had something to say, no matter whether he wanted to hear it or not. But he shouldn't waste time thinking about Momo. He had to think about what to say. So he'd have to improvise. Say something short, but inspirational. He hated long speeches anyway. So what could he say that didn't sound like a terrible cliché?

"I am pleased to meet you. I'm looking forward to working with you." There. That wasn't so bad, was it? Only most of the gathered shinigami didn't look like they were looking forward to working with him. Most of them were professional enough to keep their faces blank, but the lack of enthusiasm was disheartening. _Well, _Hitsugaya thought, _I'll have to win them over. _But that was for another day. For now, the meeting was over and Komamura led him to his office to explain him his new duties in detail.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Being a lieutenant brought many new responsibilities. One of them was overseeing the division's maneuvers. Hitsugaya thought he knew what it was about from his previous experiences as a participant and prepared a plan he was really proud of, but he quickly discovered that nothing was like he imagined.

When he stood before the assembled division that day, it was the first time most of them saw him. And despite knowing that they had a new lieutenant and what was his name, they had trouble believing that the little kid in front of them was really him. Hitsugaya regretted not wearing his fukutaichou badge, it might have helped convince them, but it was too uncomfortable. So now he was on his own. So what should he do to convince them about his competence? Since his skill was one of the things in question, he decided to give them a demonstration. He faced the loudest of the naysayers, a giant man with a giant necklace who kind of reminded him of Jidanbou, only smaller, meaner and possibly even dumber.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Ikkanzakka Jiroubou," the man answered. _Ikkanzaka? _Thinking about it, Jidanbou did mention a brother a couple of times. "The Fourth Seat here. And I am the Kamaitachi," he added proudly. So this was the best user of projectile weapons? Hitsugaya looked at him critically. He certainly didn't look like much. All bark and no bite. But looks could be deceiving. He'd have to stay on his guard.

"The strongest airborne weapon user?" Hitsugaya questioned. "That's interesting."

"Of course I am," Jiroubou nodded proudly. "My strength is second to no-one. They should have given the position to me, not a snot-nosed brat like you."

"Oh?" Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. Inwardly he was cackling. The moron had just played right into his hand. "So you think you are stronger than me? Do you feel up to proving it?"

"Of course!" the Fourth Seat boasted. "You are going to regret ever challenging me."

"Then let's see who is going to regret," the lieutenant replied. He motioned for the rest of the division to make space for them. They obeyed readily, though many of them shot him pitying glances. Were they all convinced that he was about to get slaughtered? Was Jiroubou really that good? Well, he was going to find out soon.

The two opponents stood against each other. Hitsugaya drew Hyourinmaru and watched as the giant man unsheathed his own zanpakutou. "Shall we begin?" he asked. Instead of an answer, Jiroubou shunpoed behind him. It was probably meant to be a sneak attack, but to Hitsugaya's eyes it was painfully slow. He whirled on his heel and blocked the strike easily. Jiroubou blinked in surprise, but then his face returned to its usual arrogant expression.

"So you could block this? Well, it isn't going to help you. Because you aren't going to block this!" Jiroubou grabbed his katana with both hands and swung with all his might. Hitsugaya blocked his strike holding Hyourinmaru in one hand and showing no strain, though he had to admit that Jiroubou's attack was powerful. Maybe he should stop showing off, or he might get in trouble. Jiroubou scowled and showered him with wild attacks. Hitsugaya blocked them easily, though he used a double-handed grip for it. It was much easier.

After a minute, the huge Fourth Seat finally realized that he was going nowhere. He backed away a few steps. "So you could block this? But you aren't going to block this! Habatakinasai, Tsunzakigarasu!" Jiroubou's zanpakutou split into many curved flying blades. "Nobody ever saw Tsunzakigarasu's release and lived!" Behind Jiroubou's back, one of the division members rolled his eyes theatrically and another looked like he suppressed a chuckle. Yet another one masked his chuckle with a cough. So the claim probably wasn't entirely truthful, Hitsugaya thought. But that didn't mean that the shikai wasn't dangerous; even considering how rare projectile-type zanpakutou were, being the Kamaitachi did mean something.

Jiroubou swung the hilt of his sword and the flying blades dashed towards Hitsugaya. The boy pondered dodging, but then he decided that he would prove his skills with blocking better. Hyourinmaru became a blur as he slashed at every one of the projectiles, destroying most of them in the process. Still it was a close call, as several tears in his shihakushou proved. He decided not to do it again.

"Was that all?" he asked.

"Of course not!" Jiroubou roared. He sheathed his zanpakutou and drew it again. The blades reappeared and there was just as much of them as before. The Fourth Seat sent them hurling at Hitsugaya.

The boy didn't wait for them to reach him and slipped into shunpo. He reappeared behind the man. Before Jiroubou could react, he jumped and landed on his shoulder. It occurred to him that they now looked like Yachiru and Zaraki. If Ichimaru saw him now... better not think about it. He was still in the middle of a battle. Then he laid Hyourinmaru's blade to the giant's neck.

"I win," he declared.

"What?" Jiroubou exclaimed in shock. "No!" He tried to hit the boy, but he couldn't at this angle. He summoned his flying blades to cut him, but Hitsugaya sliced through his necklace.

"I can slice through your throat just as easily," he informed the man. "Don't make me do it." He pressed the edge of his sword into Jiroubou's skin. The man fumed, but he had to admit that he was defeated. He sheathed his sword with a huff. Hitsugaya jumped down from his shoulder. In the next moment a shadow fell on him, accompanied with a reiatsu full of killing intent. He turned swiftly, blocking Jiroubou's sneak attack.

"You are a sore loser, aren't you?" Toushirou commented. "It seems like you didn't comprehend the difference in our power yet. Allow me to enlighten you." With those words, he raised his reiatsu. He wished the clouds would cover the sun for added dramatic effect, but it was currently overcast, so the opportunity was lost. What wasn't lost on the audience was the frost suddenly covering the ground accompanied by the drop in temperature. Hitsugaya pushed against Jiroubou's sword, knocking him back easily. The man landed on his backside. "Do you get it now or do you need another demonstration?" the lieutenant asked menacingly. Jiroubou shook his head. He was shaking whole. Later he would claim that it was because of the cold, but nobody would believe him.

"Wise decision," Hitsugaya commended with a nod. He suppressed his reiatsu again and sheathed his sword. The chill in the air disappeared. "Are there any more people who have a problem with me being a lieutenant?" Nobody spoke. Hitsugaya waited for a while before nodding. "Good. In that case, we shell get back to business. Let's begin the training now."

After the fight, his new subordinates looked at him with more respect, but Hitsugaya knew that he didn't win them over completely. They might consider themselves manly, but they weren't the Eleventh, so brutal strength wasn't all it took to gain their approval. His lack of experience with a high commanding position was still in question. He felt their eyes on him, watching him carefully, waiting for him to slip up and do something stupid. The whole training he felt on edge, eventually snapping and yelling at a low seated officer who made a mistake. He immediately knew that it had been the wrong thing to do. The disapproving glances of his subordinates confirmed it. The mistake wasn't big enough to deserve such dressing down. Most of the division members decided that Hitsugaya was too short-tempered after it. It would be hard to convince them otherwise, because first impressions tended to stick.

He felt completely exhausted when the training ended and it wasn't because he had exerted too much reiatsu. He wanted to just curl in his bed and fall asleep, but he had to write a report about the training first. He headed to his office and found out that a pile of paperwork had appeared mysteriously on his desk while he was away. He sighed and started filling it. Today had been already a long day and it was going to turn even longer.


	16. Hard beginnings

**Author's note:** Another chapter here. And even on regular updating schedule. I made it sooner than I expected. Next chapter will probably be out in two weeks'time too.

This chapter has two illustrations. You can find them on my DA profile, link is on my author profile page. My readers should already know it.

Enough talk, on with the story.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**On the Frozen Plain – Hard beginnings**

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Hitsugaya was slowly learning how to be a lieutenant. Too often it happened by finding out the hard way what a lieutenant shouldn't do.

After the first division maneuvers, he started wearing his lieutenant's badge regularly. It was still uncomfortable, but it showed everybody that he was the one in the position of authority and they should obey him. It made some of his subordinates obey his commands faster, but Hitsugaya wasn't happy about it. He felt like he was cheating. He should be able to command respect without the aid of a symbol. He should have the trust and loyalty of his men because they believed he deserved their respect, not because somebody said that he was their superior. But he knew from previous experience that such things didn't come easy. He could only hope that he'd win the division over eventually and in the meantime try to figure out a way how to achieve it sooner rather later. Because while now his authority was backed by Komamura-taichou, soon he was going to be on his own.

.*****************************************************************************************.

He had been on assignments in the Living World before, so he thought that this one would be little different. Just get in, purify the Hollow or bunch of Hollows his subordinates had trouble with (the report wasn't clear) and get back to Seireitei. He had completely forgotten something very important: power limiters. Now that he was officially a lieutenant he had to get one whenever going through the Senkaimon. And while he understood the necessity of not disturbing the living souls and those lingering there, he didn't quite get what the limiter was for. He could suppress his reiatsu quite well nowadays, thank you very much. That shouldn't be a problem. But how was he supposed to fight with this accursed thing on? It made him feel as weak as a newborn kitten. Honestly, what was the point of sending strong warriors into the Living World when they sealed most of their power? If they sent the average lieutenant and the average Third Seat together and the lieutenant had a limiter on and the Third Seat didn't, then the Third Seat would be a lot stronger. There was always Limit Release, but it was rarely approved and often came late, because when you realized you were in trouble, you had no time to ask the morons in the Twelfth whether they would mercifully allow you to use your full power or whether they'd rather watch you getting eaten by the Hollow and make scientific observations.

Hitsugaya was tempted to ask for Limit Release the moment he stepped through the gate. He couldn't shake the feeling that even a new Hollow would be able to defeat him now. Was that really only eighty percent of his power sealed? He felt like it was much more. And the Hollows he was supposed to cleanse today were pretty strong. How was he going to do it? He might have Bankai, but he doubted he'd be able to release it with the power restraint on. Even shikai would be a strain. And they wanted him to fight a dangerous battle in this state.

He wanted to tell all his superiors something that would make them blush for a weak. But he knew that he couldn't. He was a lieutenant now and such childish behavior wouldn't be tolerated. He had to complete his mission, no matter how he felt. Komamura sent him here alone to gather experience, so he should do just that. Soon, he was going to become a captain and then he'd have nobody to save him if he got in trouble, so he should learn how to fight with the limiter on before it happened.

With the thought, Hitsugaya took a calming breath and felt the reiatsu in the air. So where were the big Hollows and where was the unit in trouble? The reiatsu was faint, but when Hitsugaya concentrated, he could feel it clearly. He couldn't pinpoint the location of the Hollows, but the shinigami were somewhere to his left, a few miles away. He sighed in exasperation. Couldn't the people responsible for the Senkaimon open it closer to his destination? He'd complain about them later. Now he had to assist his men.

He quickly shunpoed to the location. He inwardly cursed when he realized it took a lot more effort than it was supposed to. That power limiter was even more a bother than he imagined. But he didn't allow his annoyance to show when he arrived.

The first thing he noticed was the train wreck. There were souls mingling about, but not many of them. Either the unit had already performed Konsou or the Hollows got them. It took him a little longer to spot the shinigami in trouble. They were obscured by the overturned train, huddling together near the engine. Hitsugaya quickly shunpoed to them.

He recalled that this unit was commanded by Eleventh Seat Fujiwara and his second-in-command was Fourteenth Seat Nagoya. Hitsugaya didn't know either of the men well, but as their lieutenant he was required to at least recognize them and know some basics about them. He remembered that Fujiwara was a tall, broad man with black hair, vivid blue eyes and water-type zanpakutou. Nagoya was tall too, but wiry, had ginger hair and his zanpakutou was a physical type. Now Hitsugaya couldn't see either of the men, only four of their subordinates who were all unseated, if he remembered correctly.

"Report," Hitsugaya said. They look at one another and then one of the shinigami who seemed the least injured started speaking.

"Shimura Gorou, sir. We came here to perform Konsou on the victims of the train wreck, as per order. Eleventh Seat Fujiwara divided us into three groups. I was with Morino and Kono, Fujiwara was with Takeda and Nakamura and Nagoya was with Tonou and Sumida. We started with the Konsou, but then the Hollow appeared. It attacked and killed Nagoya first. It happened so fast. Tonou and Sumida fought it, but they were killed too. Then my and Fujiwara's group arrived. It was strong. It wounded most of us and killed Morino. Fujiwara wounded it, but then it grabbed him by the neck and dragged him away. That was the last we saw of him."

Hitsugaya thought over the report. So there was only one Hollow. Good. But it was obviously a strong one. Not so good, but nothing he couldn't handle, or so he hoped. It sounded like the Hollow wanted to eat its prey in peace and regenerate, but considering that it had killed the strongest opponent, it shouldn't have much trouble killing the others as well. If its wound wasn't too serious, it didn't have to let the four unseated shinigami live. Hollows always ate whatever they could find and they never refused a tasty shinigami treat. It wouldn't just retreat and leave four weak and wounded shinigami behind. The faint scent of foul reiatsu in the air suggested it didn't go very far. That meant that it was lying in wait, using the group of four as bait to lure in tastier prey. That meant it was going to attack again soon.

"Describe the Hollow," Hitsugaya ordered. "What are its abilities?"

"It's big," Shimura started. "It has two arms and stands on its hind legs. It has a long, thin tail with a stinger on it. There's probably poison in it. That's how it killed Morino. It has claws on its hands and spikes on its back. And it's strong and fast."

The description sounded vaguely familiar to Hitsugaya. It was probably one of the Hollows registered in Soul Society's archives. But he couldn't recall what name it was registered under or what exact abilities it did have.

It looked like he was going to find out soon, because the foul reiatsu suddenly intensified, signaling that the Hollow appeared nearby. Hitsugaya drew Hyourinmaru, anticipating an attack. He didn't have to wait long. A slight whistle in the air made him turn around and lift his zanpakutou above his head. The blade clashed with the thin tail, but part of the tail with the stinger continued on its way with much greater speed, threatening to hit Hitsugaya in the neck. It was a very dangerous attack. Hitsugaya had to use his fastest shunpo to avoid it and he still felt the tip of the tail ruffle his hair.

The Hollow appeared, jumping on the top of the overturned train. It looked just like Shimura had described. Whatever wound Fujiwara had inflicted on it was already gone. Its mask focused at Hitsugaya, the thorns forming its eyebrows giving it an aggressive look. _Stingthorn, _the boy remembered. That was what this Hollow was known as in Soul Society. Not very creative name, but a descriptive one. Its most dangerous ability was indeed its venomous tail, which could attack with stunning speed from unexpected directions. It had killed shinigami before, around ten of them or so were confirmed, some of them seated officers. Its most powerful victim was a Sixth Seat. Thanks to its sneaky attacks and clever tactics, it was far more dangerous than its power level suggested. This wasn't going to be an easy battle.

"So you could avoid this?" Stingthorn asked. Its voice, echoing in its mask, sounded even creepier and more sadistic that was the standard for Hollows. "Good reflexes, kid. But it isn't going to be enough to save you!" Then it lunged. It swung its claws at Hitsugaya. The boy blocked, but he noticed the tail aiming at his back. He had to escape with shunpo. Stingthorn turned and rushed at him again.

Hitsugaya quickly considered his options. The Hollow had two claws and one tail to attack him with and he had only one sword to block it. That was an unfavorable situation, forcing him to dodge. Attacking at close range seemed unwise too, if he shunpoed behind it and tried to cut its head from the behind, he'd be most likely hit by the spikes on its back. They were probably venomous too. So close combat was out of the question. He had to try some long-range attack.

Releasing Hyourinmaru among so many people, both living and dead, was unadvisable. There would be too many wounded. And Hitsugaya wasn't sure how well his shikai would work with his limiter on. Even simple shunpo was much harder than it should be. So that left him with Kidou. Weak Hadou probably wouldn't cause enough damage and strong spells would cause too much collateral damage. So Bakudou was it. If he managed to restrain Stingthorn's movement, the fight would become much easier.

He dodged another of the Hollow's attack and put enough distance between them. "Bakudou #4: Hainawa!" he called. The golden rope formed around his forearm and he let it fly towards Stingthorn. It dodged and charged at Hitsugaya again. The boy dodged. He quickly prepared another spell. "Bakudou #9: Geki!" Once again, Stingthorn avoided it. The blast of red energy hit only the train.

"_**Why don't you attack it directly?" **_Hyourinmaru asked. _**"You're strong enough to cut it."**_

"_That stupid limiter," _Hitsugaya grimaced. _"Am I really strong enough? I can't strike as strong or move as fast as I'm used to. I don't know what can I afford and what would get me killed. I have no choice but to play it safe."_

Hyourinmaru roared in the background, expressing his opinion about the power limiter. _**"Still, you cannot win like this," **_he added.

Hitsugaya had to agree that the dragon was correct. This was going nowhere. He decided to try something riskier to finally get some results. He silently prepared a spell and let the Hollow get closer. It jumped at the offered opportunity eagerly. Its claws swiped at Hitsugaya and the boy blocked. Stingthorn's tail flew towards his back. Hitsugaya whirled on his heels and grabbed the tail right next to the stinger. "Geki!" he called. The tail was enveloped in red light, immediately becoming immobile.

Sharp pain blossomed in Hitsugaya's left side. Stingthorn had capitalized on his momentary distraction and cut into his side. The boy quickly shunpoed away, checking his wound. It wasn't deep, but if there was venom on Stingthorn's claws, he'd be screwed anyway.

Stingthorn tried to move its tail, but realized it couldn't. It shouted something that got distorted by its mask, but what presumably was some obscenity. Then it launched itself at Hitsugaya, forgetting all sense of tactics. The boy was pushed back, but without the threat of Stingthorn's tail, he had an easier time defending. He even found a gap in Stingthorn's defense and managed to stab its stomach.

The pain shook the Hollow from its crazy rage. It retreated a bit, contemplating its next move. Hitsugaya wanted to attack, but the sharp pain in his injured side slowed him down. And one of the rescue workers mingling around the train got into his way, completely unaware there was a battle going on. That meant further delay and that proved to be too much. Stingthorn decided on its course of action before the lieutenant could reach him. It quickly moved towards the group of unseated shinigami and grabbed one of them by the neck.

"Nakamura!" another one shouted in alarm. He tried to get up and attack Stingthorn, but Shimura stopped him.

"Wait, Kono, you'll just get killed!"

"But we have to do something!" the last guy, presumably Takeda, protested.

"Leave it to the lieutenant," Shimura advised him.

While Hitsugaya was pleased that his men seemed to have at least some degree of trust in him, he wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't let them down. Stingthorn held Nakamura firmly by the neck, its claws poised to he could tear the man's throat at any moment.

"Don't come any closer," the Hollow hissed. "Or your little buddy here dies."

Hitsugaya contemplated his options. If he as much as made a step towards them, Stingthorn would kill its hostage without hesitation. Even if he used shunpo, it wouldn't be fast enough to save Nakamura. Stingthorn had demonstrated its speed enough. But the man in its paws was slowing it down. That was something Hitsugaya could use, if he just figured out how. Even if Stingthorn wouldn't be able to dodge, he still would be able to rip off Nakamura's head. It was necessary to prevent him from moving.

"Carriage of thunder," Hitsugaya whispered silently. There was no way the Hollow could hear him over the racket going on around. The boy could only hope it wouldn't be able to guess what was going on if it noticed the almost imperceptible movements of his lips. "Bridge of spinning wheel."

"Did you lose your voice, little one?" Stingthorn taunted.

"With light, divide this into six."

"Now drop your sword or he dies," Stingthorn ordered. Hitsugaya dropped his sword and raised his hands.

"Bakudou #61: Rikujoukourou!" The six pillars of light slammed into Stingthorn's body before it could react, paralyzing it completely. Hitsugaya grabbed Hyourinmaru from the air and shunpoed behind the Hollow. Stingthorn roared in anger, but it did it no good. One swing of Hitsugaya's zanpakutou and it was over. Stingthorn's body dissolved into black mist.

Hitsugaya then ended the Bakudou, catching Nakamura as he started falling down.

"Are you alright?" he asked. The man nodded mutely. He was too shaken to speak and his neck was bleeding, but the wound was only superficial. "Good," Hitsugaya said. "Can you all walk?" he turned to the other shinigami. They all confirmed it. "Then open the Senkaimon and return to Seireitei. I'll finish the work here."

As soon as the gate closed behind the four men, Hyourinmaru spoke in Hitsugaya's mind again.

"_**That was pathetic.**__** If the claws were really poisoned, you'd be done for."**_

"_I know," _the boy sighed.

"_**It isn't like you to get so scared," **_the dragon continued. _**"Usually, you would have finished that Hollow in two strikes max. So what's wrong with you today?"**_

"_I have only one fifth of my power, that's what's wrong," _Hitsugaya replied angrily.

"_**Excuses,"**_ the zanpakutou spirit scoffed. _**"One-fifth of your whole power is still a lot. You still could have defeated Stingthorn easily. So why didn't you? What were you so scared of?"**_

"_I couldn't trust my own body,"_Hitsugaya replied. _"How can I fight when I don't know whether my next strike would be strong enough or my dodge fast enough?"_

"_**You fought while exhausted or wounded before," **_Hyourinmaru reminded him. _**"The power limiter isn't as bad."**_

"_You're right,"_ Hitsugaya sighed. _"It isn't as bad but it feels worse."_

"_**How so?"**_

"_When I'm exhausted, I know how much reiryoku I have left. When I'm wounded, I know which body part might fail me. Now, I'm neither exhausted nor wounded yet my body doesn't react right. It's creepy."_

"_**I know, but that's no excuse," **_Hyourinmaru replied.

"_I know," _Hitsugaya sighed. _"I guess I'll just have to get used to this feeling. Try how does my shikai react to it and whether I can use Bankai in this state."_

"_**That would help a lot," **_Hyourinmaru agreed.

"_Yes. But now, I have work to do. These souls won't bury themselves."_

.*****************************************************************************************.

The shouting reached him sooner than the raised reiatsu. Hitsugaya looked up from the report he had been writing. He listened for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on. The shouts continued and the reiatsu became more aggressive. He couldn't understand most of what was being yelled, but some of it sounded a lot like profanities. The voices were familiar too, they belonged to his subordinates, he couldn't remember which ones. And more were joining them. It looked like there was a fight about to break out in the courtyard. Hitsugaya got up from his desk and raced there. He had to break up the fight before somebody ended up hurt.

When he reached the courtyard, he saw two men standing in the middle of a circle of spectators. Both of them had their swords drawn and looked ready to use them.

"What's going on?" Hitsugaya demanded. Everybody turned to him. Now that he could see their faces, the boy recognized the two arguing shinigami. The one on the right was Yoshida, one of the low-ranked officers. Seventeenth or Eighteenth Seat or something like that. The one of the left was an Eighteenth Seat, that Hitsugaya remembered perfectly. Unfortunately he couldn't recall the name. Sato? Kato? Something like that. He'd have to put more effort into memorizing his subordinates, even if they were just temporary.

After a second of silence, the two men pointed each other and began shouting angry explanations and threats. Several of the onlookers added their own versions of the story, telling them just as passionately as the two arguing men. It was hard to understand what they were saying, but Hitsugaya caught something about a cheating girlfriend. He didn't get whose girlfriend it was and who did she cheat on him with. But there were really only two possibilities.

"Enough," he cut the arguing short. "Brawling in the courtyard is forbidden, so hide your swords." His response were multiple dirty looks. The two brawling men didn't make a move to sheathe their weapons. "Didn't you hear me?" Hitsugaya asked after three seconds. "Or do you want to get in trouble for insubordination?"

"I can't let it slide!" Kato, Sato or something like that shouted.

"Calm down, Saito," somebody from the crowd hissed. _So that's his name, _Hitsugaya thought.

"No!" Saito snapped. "This is a matter of honor. No man can let it slide. But I guess you wouldn't know," he added, sneering at Hitsugaya. Everybody held their breath. What Saito just said overstepped all boundaries. Hitsugaya was taken aback by the show of disrespect. He had half a mind to just draw Hyourinmaru and teach the miscreant some manners, but that wouldn't be wise. His division already considered him immature and short-tempered and a show of violence would only cement their belief. He had to resolve this situation peacefully, diplomatically and in the process establish his authority. And demote Saito for insubordination right afterward and assign him to toilet-scrubbing duty.

Before he could come up with something appropriate to say, Yoshida beat him to it and spoke first. "So snappish," he shook his head. "It's no wonder Remiyu doesn't want you anymore." In response, Saito charged at Yoshida. Yoshida, who had been waiting precisely for that moment, ducked under the wildly-swinging blade, intending to bury his own sword in Saito's stomach. Hitsugaya didn't have to think about his next action. He jumped between the two men. He stepped on Yoshida's blade, wringing it from his grip in the process. Saito's sword was blocked by Hyourinmaru, a block of ice binding the two weapons together. A flick of his wrist later and Saito was empty-handed too.

"What are you two thinking?" Hitsugaya spoke slowly. "Fighting in the courtyard is forbidden. I expressly forbade you to fight not a minute ago. And yet here you are, swinging your swords at one another. This isn't how officers of the Gotei 13 should conduct themselves. I don't care who stole whose girlfriend, as long as I am the lieutenant here, you are going to behave with dignity. If you feel your honor was slighted, you can issue a challenge to a formal duel, but you aren't going to engage in mindless brawls. Are you men of honor or barbarians? Saito, an officer should have more self-control. You shouldn't rise to a provocation so easily. And Yoshida, don't taunt people on purpose. I know you wanted to make Saito attack you and then claim you were only defending yourself with a full courtyard of witnesses. You aren't going to get away with that. Now, come with me. The captain will decide what to do with you."

He stared the men down (which he somehow managed despite being half their size), and they meekly obeyed, following him to the office. Hitsugaya glanced over his shoulder at the crowd still gathered in the courtyard. They were beginning to talk among themselves, shooting glances towards him and the two men following him. Hitsugaya wondered what they were saying, but he couldn't make out the words clearly enough. But when he looked at their eyes, he couldn't find resentment or distaste there. It looked like he did well today. Maybe, just maybe his subordinates were learning to respect him a bit.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya didn't expect much of his first lieutenants' meeting. He'd go there, discuss some organization things with his colleagues and they'd go their own ways. He should have known that things were never that easy.

It began innocently enough. They assembled in the waiting room and then Sasakibe-fukutaichou came and unlocked the door of the meeting room. The thirteen lieutenants filed in. Hitsugaya looked at the long table and wondered which seat was his. Before he could figure it out, a hand landed gently on his shoulder. The boy turned in surprise. He saw the smiling face of Lieutenant Yokoyama above him.

"You are lost, little one, aren't you?" the man asked kindly. Hitsugaya really didn't like to be called 'little one,' but he didn't want to cause a scene during his very first lieutenants' meeting before the meeting itself began, so he said nothing.

"It's this way," Yokoyama said leading him to one of the chairs.

"Thank you," Hitsugaya said politely. He really wanted to snap at the man for treating him like a child, but he didn't want to look childish. Besides, he should try to get on with Yokoyama. If he would really make captain, then Yokoyama would be his second-in-command. It would be good if they could establish a working rapport beforehand. He shouldn't antagonize him needlessly. He just had to convince him that he was competent.

"Snowie!" Yachiru, who found her way to the meeting hall only two minutes late, landed on his back.

"Yachiru!" he exclaimed as the girl pulled on his hair, completely ruining his attempt to look mature.

"Will you play with me today?" she asked. Hitsugaya caught the looks the other lieutenants were sending them. Hinamori's amused one and Yokoyama's patronizing one were the worst.

"I have work to do," Hitsugaya said. Yachiru pouted. "And so do you. The meeting is about to begin, so get to your seat." The little girl looked unhappy, but obeyed. Hitsugaya sighed in relief. There, he had resolved the situation in a mature way. Maybe he could still salvage some of his dignity.

Unfortunately that wasn't going to be easy. Yokoyama had already decided that he was a child who couldn't do anything on his own and needed some grownup to lead him by his hand constantly. He kept trying to help Hitsugaya no matter whether the white-haired boy needed it or not. Whenever a new topic was started, Yokoyama explained him quietly what was going on. He didn't care that in most cases, even a child would understand. Whenever Hitsugaya needed some particular report from his pile of documents, Yokoyama tried to help him find it, not caring that Hitsugaya would find it faster if the other lieutenant wouldn't disturb him.

And he did it all with an infuriating patronizing smile. Toushirou was sure he had seen it before and it wasn't during pleasant circumstances. It made Hitsugaya want to punch him. But he reminded himself that he had to keep good relations with the Tenth Division Lieutenant, so he gritted his teeth and thanked him politely, fighting the rising urge to draw Hyourinmaru on him. But the floor around his feet was already glittering with frost. If the meeting didn't end soon, he'd lose his composure. It wasn't helped any that the other lieutenants were beginning to follow Yokoyama's example and treat him like a child too. Especially Momo was doing it a lot and though it was nothing new, in front of so many people it was worse than usual.

Hitsugaya sighed in relief when the meeting was finally over. It wasn't a minute too soon. He wouldn't quite call it a disaster, but it could have been better. It looked like he had his work cut for him if he wanted to be treated with more respect than Yachiru. He barely suppressed the urge to grunt when Yokoyama offered him help should he ever need it. He said some words expressing gratitude he didn't feel and tried to slip away. But his torment wasn't still over for the day.

"What's with that face?" Hitsugaya now immediately recognized the voice of the Thirteenth Division Lieutenant Shiba Kaien. He suppressed another sigh. This always-cheerful attitude was the last thing he wanted to deal with now. He was only glad that Captain Ukitake wasn't near. He couldn't deal with publicly being showered in candy on top of everything. His dignity would never recover.

"There's no need for such face," Kaien continued. "The meeting went well, didn't it?" While it was true that nothing really bad had happened during the session and they hadn't been discussing anything too bad, he couldn't agree with the man. He had lost whatever respect he used to have, and that was definitely a bad thing. "You should be smiling." Hitsugaya saw absolutely no reason to smile in this situation.

"Shiro-chan!" Hitsugaya scowled deeper. Great. Now Hinamori joined forces with Shiba, said that terrible nickname in public and nobody was ever going to take him seriously again.

"Don't call me that," the boy growled, letting his irritation slip into his voice. Momo took a step back involuntarily.

"What's wrong with you today?" she asked.

"What's wrong?" he echoed. Didn't she see how the people here treated him? But then, she was one of these people. She just stared at him with those wide brown eyes of hers, waiting for an answer. And he couldn't tell her that she was a part of the problem.

"Nothing, really," he said. Her expression let him know that she wasn't buying it. "I'm just a bit overwhelmed," he said, hoping that it would be enough to satisfy her. Thankfully, it was.

"Well, it's a lot for me too," she said, "but Aizen-taichou is so patient with me. He helps me whenever I struggle," she added, starry eyed. "You can come anytime too. He'll help you too if you have trouble. That reminds me, he wanted to discuss the patrol schedules with me soon. I have to go. By, Shiro-chan!" She was out of the door before he could scold her for calling him Shiro-chan. Hitsugaya sighed in relief. One annoyance was gone. And Shiba-fukutaichou had left after Momo approached him, so he wasn't going to bother him either. But another pest made itself known.

"It's hard when you're not being taken seriously, isn't it?" Shirogane Ginjirou, Sixth Division lieutenant, asked. Hitsugaya only grunted in response. He had already used up his stock of politeness for the day.

"You will look more mature with glasses," the man suggested, undeterred by Hitsugaya's bad mood. "I have a perfect selection for a fine young man like you." He reached into his sleeve and pulled out several boxes with glasses. Hitsugaya looked at them without much interest. He considered glasses he didn't need a needless bother. They would just be in his field of vision. And when he saw the price tags, he had another reason why not to buy them. Even with a lieutenant's salary, he'd have to save for over a year before he would be able to afford them.

"No, thanks," he replied.

"Are you sure?" Shirogane looked at him intently. "Because good glasses would help your problem a lot." Hitsugaya wondered whether Ginjirou was a shinigami lieutenant or a salesman.

"Yes, I am sure," he said wishing the older man would get the hint and get lost. Unfortunately, like any good peddler, Shirogane tended to stick to a person until they gave in and bought something.

"Have you seen these ones?" Shirogane showed one glasses right under Hitsugaya's nose. "They're just made for you."

"Excuse me, Shirogane-fukutaichou, my captain wanted to see me right after the meeting," Toushirou said in exasperation. It was a lie, but Shirogane couldn't know that.

"Well, that's too bad, but you can always come visit my shop. Here's the address," he said sticking a business card under Hitsugaya's shihakushou. If the boy didn't have his hands full of paperwork, he would have slapped him. This way he could only grit his teeth.

"I might come when I have the time," Hitsugaya replied. Then he finally disentangled himself from the social niceties and hurried back to his division. He wondered whether all fukutaichou meetings were going to be so hellish.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Delivering paperwork to another division could be done by any officer, but because this particular batch belonged to the Tenth Division, Hitsugaya decided to go personally. He wanted to see what the division was like in advance. It would make the first day of his captaincy easier if he knew what to expect. And though it was still going to be a long time before he could take the Captain's Exam, there was no harm in starting early.

His first impression was that it was very much like the other divisions. There were shinigami going about their business, some obviously on duty, others having time off. His second impression was that there were too many people having time off and those going about their daily jobs weren't too enthusiastic about them. It surprised him how any commander could let his men slack off so bad. And how could any shinigami allow themselves fall so low when they could be ordered to fight Hollows anytime. But on the other hand, it shouldn't have been too surprising considering the rumors of the complete lack of discipline and morale in the Tenth. But hearing about it and seeing it with his own two eyes were two very different things.

It was when he noticed two men on guard duty sitting on the ground drinking sake instead of being alert that he couldn't hold his tongue anymore.

"What are you two doing?" he asked sharply.

"Drinking," the brown-haired man replied. "Now get lost, kid."

"Unless you brought more sake," the black-haired one replied. "We're running low."

"It's forbidden to drink on duty," Hitsugaya stated. "And the two of you are clearly drunk."

"Get lost, runt," the brown-haired man repeated angrily.

"Stop drinking," Hitsugaya replied. "What are your names?"

"None of your business, brat," the brown-haired man said. "You're not our superior so get lost before something bad happens to you."

_I'm going to be your superior soon enough, _Hitsugaya thought. Then he was going to straighten these two guys out. And the rest of the division too. He had no idea how he was supposed to accomplish it, but he was going to do it. And the sooner the better. But, he had to admit, he wasn't looking forward to the task one bit. But now he saw why it had to be done.

"I am not going to get lost," he said forcefully. "I am going to report you two. What are your names?"

"I said none of your business, whelp," the brown-haired man growled, reaching for his zanpakutou. Hitsugaya kicked his hand away before he could draw it.

"Do you want to get in trouble for attacking a superior officer too?" the lieutenant asked with exasperation. Then he reached down and took their sake jug.

"What are you doing?" the black-haired man shouted.

"Confiscating this," the boy informed him. Then he turned away. He was going to report the two guys. If they refused to tell him his names, it didn't matter. There should be some record of who was supposed to be on guard duty today.

He made two steps before he heard movement behind him. He whirled around just as the brown-haired man lunged at him, zanpakutou swinging. Hitsugaya easily ducked under the sloppy swing and slammed the sake jug into the man's face. The man slumped down, holding a broken nose. Pathetic.

"You should call for a medic if you're not too drunk to summon a Hell Butterfly," Hitsugaya suggested before walking away.

He found the lieutenant's office after a while. He knocked on the door and when a voice from the inside told him to enter, he walked in.

"Hello, Hitsugaya-kun," Yokoyama-fukutaichou smiled when he saw his visitor. "What can I do for you?"

"I came to deliver this reports," the boy replied, laying the stack of documents on Yokoyama's desk.

"Thank you," Yokoyama smiled, "but you didn't have to bother. You could just have sent a subordinate, you know?" He said it in a tone that suggested that he thought that Hitsugaya didn't know it. It irked the younger lieutenant, but he curbed his temper down.

"I know, but I wanted to come in person," he replied.

"Really?" Yokoyama raised an eyebrow. "So what do you need? Oh, did you bring sake?" he asked when he noticed the bottle in Hitsugaya's hand, suddenly looking livelier.

"No," the boy shook his head, putting the bottle of the desk. "I confiscated this from two of your subordinates who were drinking on duty."

"Hitsugaya-kun," Yokoyama scowled. "They are my subordinates and therefore I am the one who punishes them."

"And your subordinates think it's alright to drink on duty," Hitsugaya retorted. "I couldn't let it slide."

"Still, this isn't your division," the Tenth Division lieutenant insisted. "You shouldn't have interfered in our business. I am the ultimate authority here, not you."

Did Yokoyama know that he was talking to his future captain? Probably not. He certainly didn't act that way. Hitsugaya didn't think about it much before, but if Hinamori had no idea he had achieved Bankai, then the other lieutenants probably didn't know either. So should he let Yokoyama know or not?

"Why is there blood on the bottle?" Yokoyama's question interrupted his train of thought. His voice was stern now, bordering on angry. The look he was giving Hitsugaya would make a lesser man tremble. Hitsugaya didn't even flinch.

"One of the drunkards attacked me when I confiscated their booze."

"You hit one of my men?" Yokoyama sounded like he couldn't believe his ears. His tone quickly turned into an offended one. "You hit one of my subordinates?"

"He attacked me," Hitsugaya replied evenly.

"You still shouldn't have hit him. They are my men," Yokoyama scowled. He was really territorial, Hitsugaya thought. That was going to cause trouble in the future. Hitsugaya couldn't imagine that Yokoyama would want to cede his command of the Tenth to a young, inexperienced captain. They were going to clash horribly. Maybe he should get another lieutenant? But having a second-in-command who knew the division was advantageous too. He should give Yokoyama a chance and sack him only if cooperation would prove impossible.

"I couldn't have let him hit me," Hitsugaya replied calmly. "He was swinging his zanpakutou. It's dangerous in the hands of a drunk. Also, I have the right to reprimand any shinigami who is breaking the rules, no matter which division they are in."

"You still shouldn't have done it," Yokoyama insisted. "You're undermining my authority."

"You don't have much authority if your men drink on duty and don't even try to hide it," Hitsugaya retorted sharply. His patience with the scarred man was running low.

Yokoyama's face darkened, signaling that his patience with Hitsugaya was running low too. "How I lead my division is none of your business."

"It is," Hitsugaya snapped back.

"It isn't," Yokoyama snapped back. "And now, go back to your division. I'm sure you have a lot of work to do and so do I."

Hitsugaya considered for a moment explaining Yokoyama just why it was his business, but his patience with the older fukutaichou was almost spent. If this conversation continued any longer, it would have turned in a shouting match and that would only make matters worse. So while he should inform Yokoyama that he was going to be his superior eventually, now wasn't the right time. He should return once they were both calm.

He bid Yokoyama his farewells and left. On the way, he wondered why did the man seem so familiar. The sense that he had met him before was even stronger than during their previous meetings. When he saw Yokoyama's figure looming against the window, he recalled a sight of the same silhouette looming against cloudy winter sky. But that was all he could remember. He sighed in frustration. His memory was playing tricks on him. Did it really matter? No. Whether he had met Yokoyama before or not had really no influence on the fact that his relationship with the Tenth Division Lieutenant was going downhill rapidly. That was something he couldn't repair today. In the meantime, he should concentrate on the more pressing matters. Because Yokoyama was correct about one thing: he had lots of work to do.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Seeping crest of turbidity," the words echoed off the walls of the crater. Hitsugaya had found this secluded spot in Rukongai a week ago and realized that it was perfect for his purposes. It was far away from the nearest settlement and the walls of the crater (or former mine? He wasn't sure.) were strong enough to withstand even a powerful hit. Here he could practice even the most potent of Hadou safely and undisturbed.

"Arrogant vessel of lunacy," he continued the incantation. He raised his right hand in front of him, gathering his reiryoku. Considering the sheer power and difficulty of this particular spell, he had to keep maximal concentration if he didn't want to hurt himself.

"Boil forth and deny, grow numb and flicker, disturbing sleep." The words of the lengthy chant flowed off his lips easily. Yet it seemed too slow to him. That was the reason he never much bothered with high-level Hadou. It was too difficult to cast without incantation and too slow to cast with it. Therefore he opted to rely on his zanpakutou for battle and study Bakudou for non-combat purposes. But after the simulation of the captain's exam, the three examiners informed him of what he should improve to succeed (everything), but high-level Hadou were named second, right after getting better control of his Bankai.

"Crawling queen of iron, eternally self destructing doll of mud." Black energy flickered around his fingers. So far everything was good. If he could master this spell, he would be a step closer to the standards required for the Captain's Qualification Exam. There was no set deadline as to when he should take it, but he understood from everybody's looks that the sooner the better. And so he applied all his energy to improving his skills.

"Unite, repulse." The ball of black energy around his hand grew bigger. He began focusing it at the intended target as the chant neared its end.

"Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness." He felt the energy seeping from him, ready to strike at his command. Now he was going to see whether his studies paid off.

"Hadou #90: Kurohitsugi!" The energy flew out. It concentrated two dozen paces in front of him, forming a man-sized black box. Several spears protruding from it slammed inside. Then the coffin fell apart and dissipated. Hitsugaya fell to his knees, panting. This was more draining than he imagined. He examined the results of his spell. The boulder he had targeted was now broken into several smaller pieces. He grimaced. It should have been turned to sand. Considering how much energy he had poured into it, the results were pitiful. But then, no-one ever mastered a Kidou spell on their first try. Especially the high-level ones. He idly mused how some of the forbidden self-sacrificing Kidou were learnt.

"What do we have here?" A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. Hitsugaya startled. He had no idea he wasn't alone until the newcomer spoke. He cursed himself. He'd have to work on his awareness. Ikeda-sensei would have scolded him until his ears fell off and then put him through special training for it. The memory of his old teacher still brought a pang in his heart, but it wasn't as sharp as it used to be. He could stand it now. But he had more pressing concerns. What kind of captain would let anybody get the drop on him?

"Is the wee Fourth Divisioner practicing his measly Kidou?" one of the newcomers sneered. "Forget about it, the sword is much better."

"Nice to see you to, Abarai," Hitsugaya replied evenly. "And I'm in the Seventh now. And you wouldn't say that about my Kidou if you were inside."

"You'll always be a wee little Fourth Divisioner for us. You haven't grown a bit since you left," another voice commented. Hitsugaya gritted his teeth.

"Pleasure to see you too, Madarame-sanseki. I'll be glad to show you just how much I have grown." It's been years since the bald man had last bugged him about his philosophy and fighting style, but meeting him again so suddenly made it feel like it had happened yesterday.

"Be careful what you say," Ikkaku smirked. "I might just take your word."

"Please do." Hitsugaya was looking forward to paying the man back for everything he had put him through during his stay at the Eleventh. He felt that he finally could. And besides, a new sparring-partner would do him only good. The Third Seat was good enough to give him a workout.

"Well," Madarame grinned, "I originally came here to train Renji, but who I am to turn down a battle? Let's start! And don't think that fancy shikai of yours is going to save your ass." Hitsugaya smirked.

"I don't think I'm going to need it."

"Your funeral," Ikkaku shrugged. "I'm not going to go easy on you."

"I don't want you to."

After that, there was no more speaking. Madarame charged in first, Houzukimaru held high, intending to slice Hitsugaya from top to bottom. The boy evaded and slashed with his blade at Ikkaku's midsection. Ikkaku blocked, but was pushed back by the force behind the strike. His eyes widened for a bit. Then he broke into a large grin.

"So you did improve! Great! Maybe this is going to be an enjoyable battle after all."

"I'm going to enjoy it for all it's worth," Toushirou assured him. He didn't care that he sounded a bit sadistic. Or completely Eleventh Division.

"That's the spirit," Ikkaku approved and attacked again.

They exchanged blows for a while after that. Hitsugaya at first observed how Madarame's style changed since he'd last seen him, then he pushed for the offensive. His strikes became faster and more powerful. The bald man was at first taken aback, then he raised his reiatsu and was able to keep up with Hitsugaya again. Then Hitsugaya raised his reiatsu too. Ikkaku found himself pushed back and no matter what he tried, he couldn't change it. He tried a counterattack by slashing at Hitsugaya's head, but the boy ducked down and stabbed at his stomach. Ikkaku didn't quite manage to avoid it, the tip of the blade left a shallow gash in his side.

Madarame jumped back, studying his opponent intently. "It seems you have indeed improved," he nodded seriously. Then his face broke into a huge grin. "That means I don't have to go easy on you anymore! Grow, Houzukimaru!" The sword in his hands changed into a spear. The bald man waited for nothing and charged. His attacks became faster, more powerful. Hitsugaya had to actually try to keep up with him.

For a while, the fight continued without any of the fighters gaining the upper hand. Ikkaku was the first one who got bored with the situation. "Split, Houzukimaru," he commanded and the spear divided itself into three parts, bending and attacking Hitsugaya from behind. If the boy hadn't seen the ability before, he would have been hit. This way he knew to duck and jump out of the way. Houzukimaru's attacks were too unpredictable to fight in close quarters.

"Running already?" the bald Third Seat called, pushing his attack on Hitsugaya. The white-haired prodigy batted away the attacks from the three-part spear, but couldn't get close enough to Ikkaku to score a hit. Once again, the battle was going nowhere.

This time it was Toushirou who decided to do something about it. He willed the chain with the crescent blade to appear. He could do it silently now and didn't have to release his shikai to do it. It was one advantage of having Bankai that was the most useful in low-level battles.

He waited for Ikkaku's next attack and then threw the chain. He intended to wrap the chain around his weapon and pull it from his hands, but the Eleventh Divisioner was too experienced to be caught off guard by something like this. He dodged out of the way and the crescent clattered on the rocks harmlessly. In the next moment, Hitsugaya had to block a furious attack from Houzukimaru. He cursed as Hyourinmaru was nearly wrought from his grasp, because he was holding the hilt with only one hand now. He jumped back, retracting the chain. Madarame attacked again and Hitsugaya dodged, throwing the chain at his legs. The man jumped over it.

"Throwing that chain around, is that all you can do?" the Third Seat taunted.

"You don't want to see what all I can do," the boy retorted.

"On the contrary, I want to see it all," Ikkaku informed him. The glint in his eyes made him look like Zaraki.

"You'll have to make me show it," the lieutenant repeated his earlier statement.

"Oh, I intend to," Madarame grinned. He charged forward madly, the three pieces of Houzukimaru flailing about in a way that would hit Hitsugaya from both sides if he didn't do something about it. The attack was so quick that Toushirou had no time to get out of the way completely. He ducked low and swung his blade at Ikkaku's legs. The Third Seat jumped over the sword and tried to hit the boy from above. Hitsugaya rolled on the ground, positioning Hyourinmaru in front of his face to block the blunt end of Houzukimaru. It wasn't enough. The spear tip wasn't blocked with anything and hit his ribs, cutting a shallow gash there. Hitsugaya hissed in pain.

"First blood to me!" Madarame grinned. The gash on his own stomach had been long forgotten. Hitsugaya scowled. It looked like he'd have to stop playing around. He released more reiatsu, pushing Ikkaku's next attack away, and jumped to his feet. The Third Seat grinned even wider.

"Now the real fun starts!" he exclaimed and raised his reiatsu. So he still wasn't going all-out. But neither was Hitsugaya. He didn't even release his shikai properly yet.

The two fighters clashed together in a flurry of movement. Ikkaku's Houzukimaru whooshed through the air, attacking from all angles. Hitsugaya blocked with Hyourinmaru, looking for an opening to stab through. He abandoned the chain and crescent blade, preferring a double-handed grip. He didn't want to risk losing his sword. It almost happened anyway when he didn't notice where the tip of Houzukimaru was and it hit him hard over his wrists. He hissed in pain as a thin red line appeared on his skin, suppressing the urge to drop his sword. But he somehow managed to keep his grip on the hilt. His eyes narrowed. It looked like he'd have to fight seriously from now on. But in a way, he was glad for it. He had learned long ago that the best way to improve was to be pushed to his limits.

Raising his reiatsu again, he charged. Ikkaku lifted his weapon to parry, but was pushed back slightly. The frost which was covering the ground thickly now crunched under his feet. Ha almost slipped, but he managed to retain his balance. A bloodthirsty grin appeared on his face. This was fun. This was a lot of fun. That little brat was proving to be a worthy opponent. But he was going to show that wee little Fourth Divisioner who was the superior fighter. He scrambled some more reiryoku from the depths of his soul and used it to attack.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened when he realized that Ikkaku was suddenly upon him. He barely saw the man move. Only his well-honed reflexes allowed him to slip into shunpo before Houzukimaru's blade cut the air in the spot his neck used to be a moment before. That had been too close for comfort. Maybe he would have to use the special ability of his shikai. No, he told himself resolutely. He had to win this without using it. He had Bankai now. He should be able to win against a Third Seat with his blade sealed, even when said Third Seat was better than most lieutenants. He was the more powerful of the two of them. But he had to admit that Madarame was the one with more skills and experience and that was making up for the difference in raw power. And that meant that Hitsugaya shouldn't use raw power to overwhelm the bald man. The only way to overcome his lack of experience was to gain some and Ikkaku was perfect for it.

The two combatants clashed again. The waves of power emanating from them were throwing around the dust and ice. Renji watched it with envy. Even after all his training, he was nowhere near their level. It was painfully obvious when another wave of reiatsu slammed into him, making it difficult to breathe. He knew that his teacher Ikkaku was good and strong, but up until now, he had no idea that the little Hitsugaya kid possessed so much power. It made him doubt he'd be ever able to touch Kuchiki-taichou when even that shrimp was so far above him now. But he wasn't one to give up. He resolved to train even harder, so that one day he would surpass not only the arrogant noble, but the runt from Junrin'an as well.

Down on the battlefield, the two opponents clashed again. Ikkaku was using all his strength to push Hitsugaya. The white-haired boy still refused to use the special abilities of his shikai and kept his reiatsu on par with Madarame, but otherwise he wasn't holding back. The tides of the battle turned suddenly when Hitsugaya stepped on a loose rock right at the moment when he had to block a fierce blow from Ikkaku. That caused him to lose his footing and fall on his backside. The Third Seat was upon him in an eyeblink. Hitsugaya blocked the tip of the spear, but he could do nothing about the blunt end. It hit his shoulder with such force that he nearly dropped Hyourinmaru. His whole arm ached. It was going to be hard to swing his sword now.

Hitsugaya had enough. He decided to end this fight quickly. He let his reiatsu surge free, the icy blast forcing Ikkaku back for a moment. The boy used it to spring to his feet. By that time, the bald man regained his footing and attacked again, sporting a wide grin. Hitsugaya did the same, only with less grinning. Houzukimaru's tip came flying from above, aiming to hit Hitsugaya in the head. The blunt end was approaching from the front, threatening to smash his face in. Hitsugaya ducked down. Ikkaku kicked. The boy let Hyourinmaru's chain fly. It wrapped around Ikkaku's back leg. The front one still hit Hitsugaya in the shoulder. It sent him rolling on the ground. Still in motion, the boy tugged at Hyourinmaru's chain, taking Madarame's food from under him. The Eleventh Division member fell to the ground.

Hitsugaya jumped up. Ikkaku untangled the chain binding his leg, but it took him too much time. Hitsugaya dashed towards him, Hyourinmaru poised to strike. Madarame scrambled to his feet, but his opponent was faster than he had expected. The blow came before he regained his footing fully. He blocked with his spear, but the force behind the blow knocked him to the ground again. Hitsugaya jumped and landed on Ikkaku's stomach. The air left the Third Seat with an ooomph. For somebody so small, Hitsugaya seemed to weight a ton at that moment.

The boy laid the tip of his sword at Madarame's neck. "Do you..." he didn't get to finish the sentence, because the bald man bucked under him, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"I never yield," the Eleventh Division member stated springing to his feet. He didn't remain standing for long. The chain of Hyourinmaru wrapped around his legs and a sharp tug pulled them from under him. As he fell, Hitsugaya appeared at his side. A kick to Ikkaku's elbow made him drop Houzukimaru. Then Hyourinmaru's edge touched his throat again.

"What about now?" Hitsugaya asked. "Do you yield now?"

Madarame pondered his options for a moment. "Damn," he said, "I can't believe I lost to a kid."

"Well, believe it," Hitsugaya replied.

"I'm going to get you next time," Ikkaku promised.

"You're welcome to try," the lieutenant replied. He meant it. The Third Seat was strong and skilled, a good sparring partner. He could learn a lot from him.

"I intend to do more than just try," the bald man smirked, picking himself from the ground.

"We'll see."

.*****************************************************************************************.

The visit of Captain Aizen and Lieutenant Hinamori wasn't entirely unexpected. There had been an incident involving the members of the Seventh, Fifth and a misfired Kidou that caused tension to rise between the two divisions, forcing their commanding officers to work hard at dissolving it. Yet when Hitsugaya saw the two figures walking towards the Seventh's main office, he still felt surprised. He hadn't seen Hinamori since the lieutenants' meeting. Though only a little over a month had passed, the girl seemed to have changed. It wasn't apparent at first glance, but when he observed her for a minute, he noticed the difference in the way she walked. Some of her usual bounce was missing. Instead, she was walking with deliberate steps, putting on the impression of a serious officer. Hitsugaya didn't know what to think about it. On one hand it looked like Hinamori was finally maturing, which was a good thing, on the other he missed her usual energy, though he would never admit it aloud.

Komamura rose from his desk to greet the newcomers. After the greetings and initial pleasantries were exchanged, Komamura addressed the matter.

"So have you found out who cast the spell yet?"

"No," the bespectacled captain shook his head. "All my men swear it wasn't them and none of them remember seeing who cast it. And Hadou #31: Shakkahou is something everybody can cast, so we cannot narrow down the list of suspects this way."

"It's the same on our side," the helmeted giant said. "Everybody swears it wasn't them and nobody saw who did it. But because a member of the Seventh was hurt and the Fifth is known for their proficiency with Kidou, their convinced it was one of yours."

"They have no proof," Hinamori said angrily. Aizen looked at her. Momo immediately blushed. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I shouldn't have said that."

"But you're right," Hitsugaya said. "There's no proof. It is just as likely that it was one of ours. It was a misfired Kidou and that's less likely to happen to an expert. If the men weren't so worked up about it, it wouldn't even matter who did it. They were aiming for the Hollow and in the confusion that happens whenever two unfamiliar units meet on the battlefield, Aoki got in the way. It was an accident. Aoki is recovering well, so there is no lasting harm done. But his comrades are too prideful and protective of their own to let the matter slide. Nothing we said changed it."

"That's a mature approach, Hitsugaya-fukutaichou," Aizen said.

"Thank you."

"I see you will do well once you take command of your own division."

A startled gasp turned their attention to the only girl in the group. "Wait," Hinamori said, "what? Your own division? You and captain? Does it mean you have Bankai?"

"Yes," the boy replied, not understanding why did she sound so startled.

"Since when? And why didn't you tell me?" The look on her face spelled trouble for Hitsugaya.

"About four months," he answered.

"That long? Why didn't you tell me?" The answer was that at first he didn't want anyone to know and then it seemed like everybody knew, so he assumed that Hinamori did too. But now that he thought about it, he should have noticed that she had never brought it up during their conversations. That would have been very unlike her, had she known. Maybe it was only the captains who knew. Now just how to explain it to her so she wouldn't chew his head off.

"Well, at first, I didn't want anyone to know," he started.

"But why?" she questioned.

"I didn't want to be pushed into a position I wasn't ready for."

"Well, I can understand that," Hinamori replied, "but why didn't you tell me? Aren't we friends? Friends can share anything with each other."

"That's it," Hitsugaya sighed. "You'd share it with your friends and soon the whole Seireitei would know."

"Do you trust me so little?" Momo looked like she might start crying.

"No, I trust you," Toushirou tried to salvage the situation, "but you just love to gossip too much."

"I can keep a secret, you know," Hinamori stated, sounding offended.

"Really?" Hitsugaya said skeptically. "When did you ever keep one?"

"I'd tell you but then it wouldn't be a secret anymore," the girl replied.

A soft chuckle reminded them that they weren't alone. Both lieutenants turned to where their captains stood. Hitsugaya looked mildly embarrassed, Hinamori was blushing furiously.

"Sorry, Aizen-taichou!" she exclaimed, bowing in apology. "I didn't mean to ignore you, I just..."

"It's alright, Hinamori-kun," Aizen smiled. Momo perked up.

"Thank you, Aizen-taichou! You're so kind!"

Hitsugaya couldn't help but roll his eyes at her reaction. Didn't she realize that she was only making a fool of herself with her overly emotional displays? Didn't she understand the meaning of restraint? And why didn't Aizen tell her something? Seriously, it was as if he enjoyed it secretly.

"Maybe we should discuss the matter in private and let the children catch up," Komamura suggested. Hitsugaya bristled at being called a child. Hinamori looked shocked for a moment.

"No!" she said. "I'm sorry I got distracted."

"That's understandable, Hinamori-kun," Aizen smiled.

"But..." Hinamori began, but stopped when her captain looked at her. And in that moment she changed again. Once again she schooled herself to be the perfect officer. Hitsugaya hadn't even realized she had dropped the act when she heard about his Bankai. But now her spontaneous outburst was over, she did her best to become a picture of serenity. "You're very kind, Aizen-taichou," she said. "I won't disturb you again."

Hitsugaya watched the display with mixed feelings. So Hinamori was still the same old Hinamori. She was just putting on an act around her beloved captain. Hitsugaya didn't like the fact that she was acting. But he couldn't deny that it made her look more like a responsible lieutenant. So all in all... well, he couldn't decide how to feel about it.

"Don't worry about it," Aizen said. Hinamori's face showed that she clearly still worried about it, but the girl said nothing. "Now, we were discussing the incident. Some of our men feel offended that yours suspect them. We tried to talk them out of it, but I'm afraid they refuse to let go of the grudge so easily."

They discussed the topic for a while longer. Hitsugaya paid it only half mind. He was watching Hinamori. She was putting a good effort into looking mature and responsible, but she was constantly shooting glances at Aizen, as if asking for his approval. Toushirou didn't like it. Momo should be herself, not change into whatever somebody wanted her to be. But there wasn't much he could do about it. If he talked to her, she wouldn't listen. She valued Aizen's opinion more. He could only hope that Hinamori would come around eventually. But he didn't dare to stack his hopes too high.

.*****************************************************************************************.

It took four months before he could keep his Bankai active for long enough to use it in sparring matches. The main reason was that he had to wait to recover after every use and couldn't practice more often than every other week, though lately he felt he could shorten the time between two activations of his Bankai. And now was the time to put what he learned in use.

Captain Komamura led him onto his private training ground. It was a large open field behind the division barracks. Once there, he activated the Kidou protections. A barrier sprang into existence around them. Hitsugaya noted how large it was, not only in area, but it height also. He nodded in approval. That played to his advantage. For a moment, he wondered why Komamura felt the need to make it so. Then the masked captain walked across from him and turned to him.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Hitsugaya replied drawing his zanpakutou.

"Then let's begin. Todoroke, Tenken." Flaming red reiatsu glowed around the captain and an arm of a giant holding a humongous sword appeared, swinging towards Hitsugaya. The boy shunpoed out of the way. From their previous spars he knew that the captain was very strong, but not very fast.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru," Toushirou called and his zanpakutou awakened into shikai. He sent two dragons flying at the masked man. Komamura sidestepped one and cut the other in half. Hitsugaya shunpoed closer, trying to whack Komamura from close up. The giant captain blocked easily and Hitsugaya had to shunpo away quickly to avoid being skewered in half by the giant's arm suddenly appearing from thin air. He tried another ice dragon attack, but didn't get it through. And then he was forced to dodge the giant sword aiming at him.

"Do you need more time to warm up?" Komamura asked. Hitsugaya shook his head. He already got his blood flowing enough. Waiting any longer would only get him knocked out by the giant arm, which was a pretty common result of their spars.

"Bankai: Daiguren Hyourinmaru," he called and the ice wings formed on his back. The wings were completed much faster than they used to, but it still felt painfully slow to the boy. If Komamura wanted, he could have stricken him while the Bankai was forming, but the masked captain gave him the time to activate his technique properly. Hitsugaya was grateful for the courtesy.

But that was all the courtesy the captain would allow him. As soon as the wings were fully formed, Komamura attacked. Hitsugaya jumped out of the way and high into the air. He used his wings to keep airborne and sent a dragon flying at Komamura. It was too fast to dodge, so he blocked. The power behind the attack knocked him back, nearly forcing the sword from his grip. He pushed himself to his feet with a grunt.

"That's quite some power," he commented. "Let's see how you'll deal with this. Bankai: Kokujou Tengen Myou'ou." Fiery energy swirled around him and behind him and from the reiatsu flames appeared a giant. To the startled Hitsugaya it seemed as tall as the Senzaikyuu, though in fact it was smaller.

A swift movement woke Hitsugaya from his stupor and he quickly flew out of the way of a powerful sword swing. He didn't know how strong this thing was, but he had no desire to find out. He sent his most powerful ice dragon flying at it, but the giant samurai batted it away like it was a fly. The boy tried again, this time with two dragons. The result was the same. He frowned. So the giant was very hard to destroy. But why was he even trying? He was fighting Komamura, not that thing. That thing was only getting in the way. If he could somehow bypass it...

He attacked for the third time, this time paying attention to how Komamura was controlling his Bankai. It looked like it copied his movements. But could he also see from its eyes? Because if not, he might have some trouble controlling it precisely. And if he could, then he might react wrongly to an attack aimed at his body.

The sound of ice shattering reminded him that he didn't have forever to form a strategy. One of his flowers was already gone. He sent a dragon flying at the giant's head and as it lifted its arm to block, he quickly shunpoed to such a spot that the huge samurai was now between him and Komamura. Then he launched another attack on its unprotected side. For a moment, it looked like it would connect, but then the samurai's fist hit the dragon in the head, smashing it.

"Not a bad idea," Komamura commended, "but you didn't really think I wouldn't be able to cover my weak spots." _So there are weak spots, _Hitsugaya thought. _Now I just have to exploit them. Hm... what about an attack from behind? How fast can this thing turn around?_

Another shunpo carried him behind the giant's back. As he raised Hyourinmaru for an attack, he found out that the think can turn around pretty fast. It copied Komamura's movements perfectly after all. As he realized the monstrous sword was now heading for him, he had just enough time to put his own zanpakutou into its path before the power behind the strike sent him flying, all bones in his body reeling from the impact.

He nearly crashed into the barrier before he stopped himself. He realized that another two petals were gone. He'd have to come up with something quick or he'd lose by running out of power. Not that he thought he could defeat an experienced captain on his first try, but he wanted to at least score one hit. He had already discovered that attacking the giant was futile. So what about going after Komamura himself?

He rushed across the feet, to where the relatively small figure of his captain stood. He would have never imagined he'd think about the big man in these terms, but compared to the monstrous form of his Bankai Komamura did look like a midget.

Halfway there, he saw Komamura moving. The captain put the giant in his way. Hitsugaya changed directions, aiming for the helmeted figure. Komamura moved again, once again putting the huge samurai into his path. Hitsugaya continued on his path and when he was close, he suddenly changed directions, aiming for the captain once again.

A sudden shadow falling on him was the only warning he got. He tried to speed up to outrun the danger, but it wasn't enough. The giant steel boot hit him in the side, shattering his wing and kicking him high into the air, knocking his sword from his grasp in the process. Hitsugaya screamed in pain. His arm was probably broken. It was all he could do to cushion his fall. He rolled on the ground, panting heavily and fighting back the tears of pain. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the giant samurai disappearing as Komamura dismissed his Bankai.

"I think that's enough for today," the captain stated. Hitsugaya didn't feel like arguing. His clumsy attempt to determine whether his upper arm was broken revealed that it was merely cracked, but even that meant he was in no condition to fight on.

As he accepted Komamura's help to get to the Relief Station, he thought back to the fight. Despite all of his training, he was still no match for the experienced captain. Though he lasted a good while, he still got trounced soundly in the end. The difference in their power and skills was that big. He wondered how long it would take before he'd be able to fight on par with Komamura.


	17. Struggling along

**Author's note: **Sorry this chapter is a bit late. I had trouble with some scenes. I'm still not content with it, but it isn't going to get any better. There's also a picture relevant to this chapter on my DA profile. I'm going to call it an illustration.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**On the Frozen Plain - Struggling onwards**

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya strode through the corridors of the Tenth Division with purpose. Today, he was going to explain to Yokoyama-fukutaichou just how was their relationship going to look in the future. He wasn't going to let anything distract him from his goal. He even ignored two men drinking on duty, probably the same ones as the last time, settling for only glaring at them.

Finally he reached the Tenth Division office. He took a deep breath to compose himself. He couldn't help but feel anxious. His future relationship with his future lieutenant depended on it. And he knew that diplomacy wasn't his strong point. Well, procrastinating never helped anything. He should get over with it.

He knocked on the door and Yokoyama's voice called for him to enter. It sounded like the older lieutenant was preoccupied, barely paying attention to what was going on around him. When Hitsugaya entered, he could see that Yokoyama was going through a thick stack of papers, obviously looking for something. He looked agitated that he couldn't find it. Maybe this wasn't the best time for a serious discussion, Hitsugaya thought.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Hello. What can I do for you?" Yokoyama asked, not even looking at his visitor.

"I have the report of Hollow activity in the areas bordering on your assigned territory you requested," Hitsugaya said, showing the stack of documents he used as an excuse for visiting the Tenth again.

"Ah, that's good," Yokoyama said, barely lifting his eyes from the search he was conducting. "Put it here," he indicated a spot at the corner of the table. Hitsugaya did so. He stood there for a while, pondering how should he breach the subject.

"Do you want something else?" Yokoyama asked with a hint of impatience in his voice. He was now flipping through the same stack of papers for the second time.

"What are you looking for? Maybe I could help you find it," Hitsugaya offered.

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary," Yokoyama said, trying to wordlessly convey the message that Hitsugaya should just get lost. The younger lieutenant ignored it.

"But I really want to help you," he insisted.

"And I really don't need it," Tarou insisted.

"You always helped me even when I didn't need it," Hitsugaya retorted.

"You don't have to thank me," Yokoyama replied, completely missing the point.

"We should learn to cooperate better," Hitsugaya suggested.

"I know that cooperation between divisions is the latest fad, but look, the divisions are separate for a reason. Each is different. Seventh and Tenth don't have that much in common and don't cooperate often."

"Seventh and Tenth Divisions might not cooperate much, but we should. It will be useful for when I'll join the Tenth."

"Huh?" Yokoyama blinked in surprise. "Look, the Tenth Division already has a lieutenant: me. Or are you perhaps too stressed with your current position? It would be understandable. We have a Third and Fourth Seat, but the Fifth Seat is currently empty, so..."

Hitsugaya suppressed to urge to kick Yokoyama. He took a deep breath to compose himself before interrupting the older fukutaichou's rant.

"You misunderstand. I don't feel too stressed in my position and I have no intention to relinquish my rank. I'm going to come here as your new captain." He let the words sink, observing what kind of reaction it was going to cause in Yokoyama. The initial look of disbelief didn't disappoint. The look of skepticism that replaced it did. The patronizing look that came third was the worst.

"You know, this is too serious matter to joke about."

"I am not joking," Hitsugaya replied.

"You might think it is funny," Yokoyama continued as if he didn't even hear him, "but it isn't. Captaincy is a serious business. Very few ever reach such levels. Even I can't."

_No wonder there, _Hitsugaya thought. Aloud, he said: "Well, I'm almost there. I just have to gain better control over my Bankai and I can take the exam."

Yokoyama sighed. "I told you, don't say such things. You're lucky I'm the one who heard you. Someone else might have reported you and then you'll be in trouble."

"I'm telling the truth, you moron," Toushirou snapped. He hadn't intended to say the later part, but it just slipped out. He wasn't really paying any attention to what his mouth was doing. There was something familiar in what Yokoyama just said. Hitsugaya could almost remember, but the memory taunted him right outside his reach.

"I'm trying to help you!" Yokoyama snapped. That too sounded familiar.

It was then when he realized where he had seen Yokoyama Tarou before. He also realized why did it take him so long. He kept concentrating on the scar. It was the older lieutenant's most prominent feature, after all. But back then, Yokoyama didn't have it yet.

.*****************************************************************************************.

_Snow was everywhere. It covered the land as far as he could see. The snowflakes had stopped falling some time ago and now the occasional ray of sunshine peeked through the clouds shyly, turning the winter landscape into a pile of glittering diamonds before hiding again, making the white wasteland look even more desolate in contrast._

_The boy walked through the snow. He didn't know where he was going, he just knew he had to push forward. He had to run. Because if he stayed, bad things would happen. The exact reason for his flight was slowly fading from his mind, but the desire to press on remained._

_Rationally, he realized that he didn't have to run anymore. Any potential pursuers would stop the moment they found his body. Yes, his body. Though they would have to possess very sharp eyes to find it under the layer of snow. Or they might literally stumble over it. That was the more likely possibility._

_The thought of leaving his body behind brought a sour grimace to his face. It meant that he was dead. He didn't like the thought. Not that being dead was bad, he didn't feel cold or hungry anymore, but because dying meant he had failed at staying alive. And failure was something that didn't sit well with him. It made him feel weak. It made him want to become stronger, smarter, but what point was in that if he was already dead?_

_So he walked on because he had no better thing to do. With as much time on his hands and without the limitations of his body, why not do some exploring? He could go everywhere he ever wanted to visit without having to worry about food, water, shelter, transportation or money. His legs alone would eventually get him everywhere. Now if he could just remember where did he want to go. Well, it didn't really matter. He'd recognize it when he saw it. And if not, he'd just wander around some more. There was no hurry._

_He lost track on how long he had been treading through the snow. Days must have passed, maybe even weeks. He had passed through meadows and forests, seen cliffs and waterfalls, visited cities and villages and saw people going about their business and ghosts lingering about. The people couldn't see him. The ghosts could, but few of them paid him any attention, opting to mind whatever they were obsessed with. It was a novelty experience for him. Usually, people tended to shoo him away when he came too close, but now he could observe them undisturbed. But it bored him quickly, so he left and drifted on._

_And sometime during the drifting the man in black appeared. The boy could tell that he was different at first glance, though he couldn't tell why. He looked completely ordinary, if it wasn't for his clothes and also the sword he carried. And though other people might consider that extraordinary enough, the boy knew that that wasn't what made him exceptional. Yet he couldn't tell what did. There just was something about him that made him stand out. Something that made him seem bigger, larger than life. The boy stopped in his tracks, watching the man intently._

_The man noticed the boy's eyes on him. He turned to him slowly and smiled kindly, though it was more of a well-practiced kind smile showed to people when one was supposed to be pleasant rather than genuine kindness. He then walked to the boy, the smile still stuck on his face._

"_Hello," he said in an attempt at a cheerful voice._

"_Hello," the boy replied warily._

"_One so young being alone, you must be scared and confused," the man spoke._

"_Not really." He wasn't confused at all. He knew exactly what had happened. And he wasn't scared either. He was already dead, so what else could happen to him? But the man completely ignored his answer._

"_Well, you're lucky I'm the one who found you," the man smiled. The boy wasn't certain it was a lucky thing. The man ignored his scowl and continued. "I'll send you to a happy place." Now that made the boy really suspicious. He began slowly inching away. "Your body will feel light there and you won't be hungry. Everything is nice and sunny there." The boy made yet another step back. He got the sinking feeling that his earlier assessment that nothing bad could happen to him because he was already dead might have been incorrect. The man seemed oblivious to his escape attempt so far, so he might be able to make it to the trees and shake him off there. But just as he thought it, the man reached for his sword. The boy turned and sprinted away._

"_Where are you going?" the man shouted. "I'm trying to help you!" The boy ran faster. He had a good idea how did the 'help' look like if the stranger needed a sword for it. He could do without it, thank you very much._

_But before he could reach the trees, the man suddenly appeared in front of him, looking like a crow in his black clothing. The boy made a sharp turn, but the man grabbed him by his collar. "Ungrateful brat," he muttered and slammed the pommel of his sword into the boy's forehead. The world turned black._

.*****************************************************************************************.

So that was how it was, Hitsugaya thought, coming out of his memories. He had to admit that if it wasn't for the scar on his face, Yokoyama hadn't changed a bit. He still did everything perfectly by-the-book and remained oblivious to the signs that it wasn't alright. It almost seemed that he was physically unable to either see things that didn't fit his world perception or deal with them. If that was the case, than any further attempts to talk to Yokoyama would be futile.

He was brought out of his musings by the sensation of a hand ruffling his hair. He looked up sharply to see Yokoyama leaning over him, that infuriating patronizing fake smile plastered firmly on his face.

"I understand why are you doing this," Tarou said. "Everything is too much for you and you're making things up to make yourself feel better. It's understandable. You're a child. Being a lieutenant is too hard on you."

"Being a lieutenant isn't too hard on me," Hitsugaya growled and batted Yokoyama's hand away. It was all he could do not to cut it off, but that would have been childish. Yokoyama's patronizing smile didn't falter.

"Here, have some candy," he offered a few wrapped bonbons to Hitsugaya. The boy felt like screaming, but somehow managed to keep his composure.

"No, thanks," he said. Yokoyama pushed the sweets into his hand. Toushirou realized that he had to leave or he'd probably kill the Tenth Division lieutenant. Not that it would be any great loss, but it would get him in trouble.

Hitsugaya bid the man goodbye and left the office as fast as good manners allowed, letting the elder lieutenant search for the missing document in peace. He reached a decision: he wasn't going to try and speak to Yokoyama again. That man was a moron, living with blinds on his eyes, oblivious, with the uncanny ability to miss the point and concentrate on the wrong thing and Hitsugaya didn't want him as his lieutenant. No lieutenant would be better than this ignoramus. Once he made captain, he was going to demote him. If he was feeling generous, he might even wait until he found a replacement. He could just hope that the man wouldn't drive his division to ruins by then.

He regretted that there were classic shoji doors leading to the Tenth Division office and not the western-style ones he had seen during his stays in the Living World. He really, really wanted to slam them behind him. But maybe it was good that he couldn't do it. After all, he would have been causing damage to his future division.

.*****************************************************************************************.

After his last training was interrupted, Hitsugaya decided that he needed a new spot to practice. He didn't like any sudden interruptions. What if Abarai and Madarame walked into the path of a misfired Hadou? That might end in a disaster. He didn't want to waste his free days on the search, so he used the patrols he was assigned to for searching for convenient secluded spots.

It was during one such patrol that he felt a sudden flare of reiatsu from somewhere nearby. It wasn't the tainted reiatsu of Hollow, but a shinigami's, but there was something wrong about it. It spiked in a sudden flare, akin to that of releasing a Kidou, but instead of the controlled burst, it quickly became wild and untamed, tinted with a hint of pain before disappearing. It reminded Hitsugaya of his old classmate's Renji's exploding Kidou, only this was more powerful. Plus, he thought he recognized the reiatsu.

The three new recruits he was showing around looked at him in surprise when he suddenly stopped.

"What's going on?" one of them asked.

"Did you feel it?" Hitsugaya asked back. The recruit shook his head no.

"I think I felt something," another said, "but it didn't feel like a Hollow."

"No," Hitsugaya agreed, "this was definitely a shinigami's reiatsu. But it was wild and uncontrolled. Somebody might be in trouble."

"So what are we going to do?" the third recruit asked.

"Investigate it, what else," the lieutenant replied. The recruit drew his zanpakutou.

"What are you doing, Ishikawa?" Hitsugaya scowled.

"You said we are going to investigate," Ishikawa answered.

"I did. But I didn't tell you to draw your sword."

"But what if we are attacked?"

"Ishikawa," Toushirou sighed. "While your caution is commendable, there is such thing as overdoing it. First: we didn't sense any Hollow reiatsu. So the probability of a fight is low. Second: if you are going to run around with your sword bared, somebody is going to get hurt. Why do you think we have sheaths?" The man looked pensive. "Now hide your sword and follow me."

Though the three recruits couldn't run fast (and only one of them could shunpo), they closed on the site of the disturbance soon. It seemed to be originating from a small grove. They were in no danger of missing it, because several more blasts of wild reiatsu followed the first one. When they were close, a blast stronger than the previous ones flared, shortly followed by the cracking of flames and the sight of smoke rising above the trees. Hitsugaya slipped into shunpo, leaving three confused recruits behind. He soon reached a small clearing, where an old, dead tree was now burning brightly, the flames threatening to spread to the neighboring trees. He quickly released his shikai, calling a heavy rain to douse the flames. The water and the sudden drop in temperature put the fire out soon. Hitsugaya sheathed Hyourinmaru and turned to the other occupant of the clearing.

"And just what were you doing?" he asked.

"Uh, I was..." Iba Tetsuzaemon looked like he was frantically trying to come up with a believable excuse and failing.

"Practicing Kidou?" Hitsugaya offered. "And not doing very well, I see."

"Practicing Kidou?" Iba sounded offended. "Don't be ridiculous, boy. Did you ever hear about a member of the Eleventh who practiced Kidou?"

"But it felt like you were. And what did you set the fire to the tree with?"

"I was playing with matches," the man replied, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

"Right. You don't look like a toddler," the lieutenant spoke skeptically. The bigger male looked embarrassed. "You don't have to be ashamed," Hitsugaya continued. "There's nothing wrong with practicing Kidou, even if the morons in the Eleventh think otherwise."

"Hey!" Tetsuzaemon took offense at the slight to his division's pride, but Hitsugaya ignored it.

"But you should find a better training field," the boy suggested. "If I weren't nearby, you could have set fire to the whole forest."

"I wasn't practicing fire spells," Iba defended, not realizing that he admitted practicing Kidou.

"It doesn't matter when you mess up enough," Hitsugaya pointed out. The mixture of slights and embarrassment was too much for Iba's temper.

"And just who do you think you are to scold me, boy?" he exploded. "Did your new position get to your head already? Flaunting your rank around..."

It was true that Hitsugaya was wearing the lieutenant's badge even though it was getting out of fashion. He could understand why, that thing was uncomfortable, especially on his small arm. But it did wonders in establishing his authority. Many of his subordinates had trouble obeying a child and the badge served to remind them why they should. It worked so well that the boy decided to wear it at least until the Seventh would remember that he was their fukutaichou without having to be reminded constantly.

"I'm not flaunting my rank around," he snapped. "I'm merely reminding everybody of it."

"Same difference," Iba snapped back. "You don't have to rub it in my face that you are a lieutenant and I'm not."

"Why so bitter?" Hitsugaya taunted. "Did your mom harp at you to earn a promotion finally?"

"Don't drag my mom into this!" Tetsuzaemon's expression let Hitsugaya know that his guess was true. "So what if I am still the Fourth Seat. I'm still better than you."

"I doubt it," Hitsugaya snapped back. Iba reached into his shihakushou for his zanpakutou.

"That oversized sword of yours won't help you compensate for your lousy skills. Or your strength or your size," the Fourth Seat stated. Hitsugaya's hand twitched towards Hyourinmaru's hilt. He really hated comments on his height. Things were headed straight for a brawl in the Eleventh Division style.

"Uh... what's going on here, fukutaichou?" an anxious voice interrupted them. Hitsugaya turned around to see that the three recruits had just arrived. He forced himself to calm down. Suddenly his conduit seemed extremely stupid to him. What was he doing? He was supposed to be showing the newbies around, not picking fights with old acquaintances.

"Nothing," he said. "The problem has been resolved."

"Nothing has been resolved," Iba muttered darkly.

"I'm on duty now," Hitsugaya informed him. "If you want anything else, send a butterfly." Then he turned to the three confused recruits. "We have a patrol to continue. Let's go."

It was only when the forest and its occupant disappeared from his sight that he realized that maybe he shouldn't have antagonized Iba. If he really made captain, he was going to need a new lieutenant and while his relationship with the Fourth Seat wasn't exactly good, it was still better than the one with Yokoyama. Iba could have made a better Second Seat, but now it looked like he wouldn't want to be Hitsugaya's second. Well, Hitsugaya didn't think that Iba was the ideal lieutenant either, just better than Yokoyama, but that wasn't telling much. He'd just have to look elsewhere.

.*****************************************************************************************.

A report came about a sighting of a Menos Grande in the 30th district of East Rukongai. This was a situation that called for a captain to deal with and this time it was Komamura's turn. So without further delay, he and Hitsugaya took off to deal with the situation. Finding the Menos was easy. Even if they couldn't feel it's reiatsu from three districts away, its huge, grotesque figure was towering over the trees and houses, easily visible from miles away.

"As a part of your training, can you take on it on your own?" Komamura asked.

"Yes," Hitsugaya nodded.

"Then do so. I'll step in if it goes wrong." Hitsugaya nodded. He took in the situation and considered the best strategy. The Menos was at the outskirts of a town, so he should deal with it quickly before it killed more civilians. That would mean using Bankai. But unleashing his Bankai in a populated area would cause too much damage, probably even more than the Gillian. Even his shikai was dangerous. What he had to do was to lure the Menos away and take it out in the middle of the fields. He took a deep breath and sprung into action.

He shunpoed behind the Gillian and slashed at the back of its calf. Unlike his first fight, this time he was able to cut through the creature's reiatsu. A shallow wound opened in the leg. The Menos roared in pain and kicked at Hitsugaya. The lieutenant waited for nothing and shunpoed upwards. He landed on the Gillian's shoulder and swung his sword at its head. Once again, the wound wasn't deep enough to cause significant damage, but it enraged the Hollow further. It grabbed at him, but Hitsugaya didn't wait for it. He jumped from its shoulder. The Gillian turned after him.

"You want me?" Hitsugaya shouted. "Come and get me!"

Whether the Menos could understand him or not, it opened its mouth and charged a Cero. The boy was hit with a sudden sense of déjà-vu. He shot a glance over his shoulder. Only a meadow there, not a single soul in sight. Good. So he didn't have to block it.

He waited until the last possible moment. The moment the Gillian fired the Cero, he slipped into shunpo. He appeared on its shoulder once again. With all his might, he swung Hyourinmaru at the side of its face. The blade bit into the mask, but could only chip it. When he tried to take it out, he realized it was stuck. _Curse it, _he thought. This reminded him of his first fight too.

The Gillian trashed his head wildly. Hyourinmaru was nearly wrenched from Hitsugaya's hand, but the lieutenant managed to keep his grip, but was now hanging off the hilt, flailing around wildly. He cursed inwardly again. This wasn't good. He was sitting duck in this predicament. There was no helping it now. He didn't want to release his shikai so close to the city, he had even hoped for a moment that he might not need it at all, but the Menos refused to chase after him. Now there was no choice. With a thought, he commanded Hyourinmaru to enter shikai.

The wordless release was one of the best features of having Bankai. If he had to say the whole release phrase, he would have never made it in time. Now the sky instantly darkened with clouds and the mask close to the blade was covered with ice. The Gillian jerked his head again and the frozen part of its mask shattered, freeing Hyourinmaru's blade. Hitsugaya began falling. The Menos swiped its hand at him, but Hitsugaya cut through it with his zanpakutou easily. The white fingers fell to the ground. Hitsugaya landed beside them and sliced off the leg that tried to kick him. Then he leapt up again and cut through the Gillian's mask with all his strength. This time it broke easily. The Hollow collapsed down and began dissipating into spirit particles.

Hitsugaya sheathed his sword and surveyed his handiwork. He sighed. Exactly what he had feared had happened. The surroundings were covered in a thick layer of frost, including the village and some souls that hadn't run in time and passed out from the reiatsu. The Gillian had collapsed on top of two houses before it began to dissipate. Hitsugaya could only hope that nobody had been inside when it happened.

He shot a glance over his shoulder, trying to gauge what did his captain think of his performance. Komamura's helmet was as inexpressive as ever. The lieutenant briefly wished that he could see under it. Hitsugaya sighed and moved to help the souls caught in the crossfire. A minute later Komamura joined him.

"I called for the clean-up crew. They should be here soon," he announced. Hitsugaya nodded. Clean-up crew was sorely needed here. And medics too. The Menos had wreaked a lot of destruction. Hitsugaya's mind flashed back to when he used to be a part of the clean-up crew. It seemed a lifetime ago. They worked in silence, getting the unconscious souls away from the frozen area. They had nobody to help them, those who could had run away the moment the Hollow had appeared.

Finally the clean-up crew and the medical squad arrived and Hitsugaya and Komamura could let the professionals do the work. They returned back to Seireitei. Once they entered their office, Komamura turned to him seriously. At least Hitsugaya thought he was looking at him seriously. It was impossible to tell with that helmet, but something in the captain's stance screamed 'serious'. Hitsugaya wished he could see his face to confirm it.

"So what can you tell me about your performance today?" He had been right. Komamura was serious. Hitsugaya suddenly felt anxious. He knew he could have done better and Komamura obviously thought so too. He wanted to bow and apologize for his screw-up, but he was supposed to deliver his report professionally.

"Upon seeing the Menos, I realized that it was too close to a residential area to fight. I planned to lure it away into the fields, but it refused the bait, firing a Cero instead. After that, I decided to take it out quickly. I was unable to do so without releasing my zanpakutou. Using shikai, I was able to purify the Hollow easily, but I have caused serious damage to the surrounding area and injured an unknown number of people." He looked at the captain expectantly. What was he going to say?

"Do you know what you could have done better?" That was the question that had bugged the boy ever since the fight.

"Maybe I could have tried harder to lure it away. But it might have failed and it could have killed more people. I'm sorry. I'm just not strong enough to purify it with a sealed blade." At least shikai was enough today. Last time he had to resort to Bankai. So he was improving, but it wasn't enough.

"There was a time when you could have gone right after his mask but didn't," Komamura observed.

"Maybe. But it seemed to me that the angle wasn't right for such attack. I didn't think I could do anything more than chip the mask slightly, so I attacked the side of its head instead. That was a certain hit."

"And you see what effect it had," Komamura replied. "Don't expect the Menos to have brains like normal people. They have no individuality, remember?" Hitsugaya nodded. "So don't be fooled by their humanlike appearance. They're just constructs of Hollow reiryoku and the only way to get rid of them is to destroy their mask. Cutting off their limbs is good to immobilize them, but otherwise the mask is the only spot worth attacking."

"I know," Hitsugaya sighed.

"Then why didn't you act accordingly?" Komamura questioned.

"It's hard to imagine that something can just shrug off a hit to the head," the boy answered.

"I know, but a warrior on our level cannot afford to be fooled with such preconceptions. We have to always strike precisely and always win. You might not realize what it means, but captains are the last line of defense for the Soul Society. We are called upon when the situation is most dire and there's nobody to call for help if we are about to lose. Because if we fall, the Soul Society will fall with us."

"That sounds terrifying," Hitsugaya whispered.

"But that's how things are. We are the strongest warriors in the Soul Society and therefore those with the most responsibility. We are the pillars of strength supporting it. That's why it's important for a captain never to falter in battle."

"I understand."

"I hope you do. If you want to become a captain, you have to live by it."

"I'm still not sure I want to, but I understand there's no-one else," Hitsugaya replied. "I do my best to become such warrior, but I feel like I'd need a hundred years for it."

"You don't have a hundred years," Komamura pointed out.

"I know," Hitsugaya sighed.

.*****************************************************************************************.

His second lieutenant's meeting was slightly better than the first one, but the difference wasn't big. Yokoyama once again tried to help him with everything, obviously considering Hitsugaya even more of a child than he did the last time. But this time Hitsugaya didn't have the patience for him and didn't even try to be polite. That earned him a lesson about manners from Yokoyama after he had told him in no uncertain terms to leave him finally alone. The scene amused the spectators greatly. But fortunately Yokoyama stopped bothering Hitsugaya after that, so the rest of the meeting passed in relative calm.

Hitsugaya sighed in relief and tried to get away as soon as the meeting was over, but he was accosted by Hinamori.

"Say, Shiro-chan," the Fifth Division Lieutenant began.

"It's Hitsugaya-fukutaichou," Toushirou interrupted her. Hinamori let out an exasperated sigh.

"Hitsugaya-fukutaichou," she said, rolling her eyes. "I've been wondering... How does Komamura-taichou look under his helmet?"

"Uh..." Hitsugaya realized he didn't know. He had never seen his captain without his inseparable head covering. And up to now he didn't consider it strange.

"You don't know?" the girl questioned.

"No," the boy answered.

"But why?" she inquired.

"Why what?"

"Why don't you know?" Hinamori elaborated.

"I don't know," Hitsugaya shrugged. "Komamura-taichou always wears his helmet."

"But why?" Momo questioned.

"It's a part of his uniform."

"But he's the only one who wears it. Why?"

"I have no idea," Toushirou replied.

"Aren't you curious?"

"No," Hitsugaya shrugged. He really wasn't curious in what was hiding under Komamura's helmet. He had more important things to worry about. Namely how to get the Seventh to respect him as their lieutenant. Things were getting better, but there were still some people who had trouble with him. Like their Fourth Seat. He was content with Komamura being the tall guy with the mask. He didn't need to know more.

"Well, I am curious," Hinamori stated.

"Why?" Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow.

"Why what?"

"Why are you curious?" he elaborated.

"Because it's a mystery," she answered like it explained everything. "Everybody wants to know."

"Well, I don't," the white-haired boy shrugged.

"The whole SWA wants to know," Hinamori said.

"I'm not in the SWA," Hitsugaya retorted.

"I know," Momo rolled her eyes. "But really, it's a big mystery. How comes you aren't curious?"

"I have other things to worry about," Toushirou replied. "Keeping a division in order, for instance. If Komamura-taichou doesn't want to show me his face, that's perfectly fine with me."

"But why wouldn't he?" Hinamori questioned. "You are his lieutenant. Doesn't he trust you?"

"He does," Hitsugaya replied.

"The why wouldn't he show you your face?"

Hitsugaya just shrugged. "It isn't my business."

"Aizen-taichou would never hide anything from me," Momo stated confidently.

"You and your Aizen-taichou," Hitsugaya rolled his eyes.

"I don't get what you have against him," Hinamori scowled. "But really. It is strange for a lieutenant not to know how his captain looks like."

"I know how he looks like," Toushirou snapped. Momo looked at him expectantly. "He's the big guy in the helmet." Momo pouted.

"That's not funny."

"It isn't supposed to be," Hitsugaya replied. "Look, Hinamori, can't you just drop the matter? And don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Oh!" the girl exclaimed, her eyes widening. "I have to report this meeting to Aizen-taichou! Bye, Shiro-chan!" she waved and ran off.

"It's Hitsugaya-fukutaichou!" he shouted after her, but she showed no sign of hearing him. He didn't really mind. Now that this ridiculous conversation was over, he could finally return to his division. He had a lot of work to do there and he'd better start on it if he wanted to go to sleep tonight.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Ryuusenka!" Hitsugaya cried as he swung his sword into the boulder. The stone cracked in half and a mass of ice formed around the crack. It was three times as tall as Hitsugaya. The boy frowned and pulled his blade out. He moved over to the next stone and repeated the procedure. "Ryuusenka!" Ice formed again, but this time there was a little less of it than the last time. "Ryuusenka!" he tried for one more time. Yes, he wasn't mistaken, the ice structures were getting smaller with each try. And they weren't exactly like the giant structures Hyourinmaru had described to begin with. But it was to be expected. This was his first time trying it. And the move was difficult, much different from the ice dragons he used usually. It utilized a different kind of ice, so much colder and more pressured that its structure changed. And this ice was used to stab through the target and then his hold over it was released, making it change into regular ice instantly and freeze all the water around in a chain reaction. Hyourinmaru insisted that it was a very important step in mastering his Bankai, kinds of the super-cold pressurized ice were necessary for other techniques with tremendous power, techniques he couldn't dream of learning until he mastered this, because Ryuusenka was the most basic of those moves. Yet as he struggled to keep at least a little bit of the ice in the correct phase, he wondered what the dragon would consider a difficult move.

As another of the Dragon Hail Flowers formed small and weak, he sighed. It felt like he was getting nowhere. He should be happy that Hyourinmaru finally deemed him worthy of learning his first special Bankai move, not whine that he didn't get it right on his first try. Or fifth. The time he could hold his Bankai active was now several times longer than it used to be, so he'd be able to practice with it longer. He'd get it right in no time.

A cracking sound reminded him that his time for today's training was limited. He glanced over his shoulder. Only two petals were remaining from his last flower. "Ryuusenka!" he tried for the last time. One of his petals broke down completely and the other cracked. He quickly dismissed his Bankai. His ice wings shattered and he fell to his knees, panting. He never realized just how exhausting the use of Bankai was until after he deactivated it. While it was active, the energy surge made him feel strong, but the moment it ended, his body let him know exactly how much reiryoku he had spent. It made him want to curl down and sleep for a week every time. At least the burning feeling from using too much power at once wasn't as bad as it used to be anymore. Still, dragging himself back to the barracks after every practice counted among the hardest things he had to do.

"That was impressive, kid," a familiar voice sounded from nearby. Hitsugaya was hit with a sudden sense of déjà vu. Did he let Madarame sneak up on him again? One look in the voice's direction confirmed that yes, he had let Madarame and Abarai sneak up on him during practice again. When did he get so bad at sensing reiatsu? Were they hiding it? Was he too distracted? Or was the release of his Bankai drowning out everything else?

"It was supposed to be bigger," he replied.

"Still pretty good, I had no idea you could do something like this," the bald man said.

"It's a recent development."

"Say, kid, are you up for a spar?" Ikkaku suggested. "After seeing this, I very much want to see what you can do."

"I'm not up to getting up," Hitsugaya muttered. The fatigue was threatening to overcome him.

"That's not something you can tell to a Hollow," Madarame chided. "And neither to an Eleventh Divisioner." He drew his blade and with one swift motion leapt at the boy. Hitsugaya barely mustered enough strength to block his wild swing. He felt like the hit would send Hyourinmaru flying. Ikkaku attacked again and once again Hitsugaya barely blocked. His arms felt like they were made of lead.

"What's this?" Ikkaku frowned. "You can usually do better." Toushirou felt too tired to come up with a clever retort. "At least stand up when I fight with you. Or do you want to be cut down while lying down? Because if you don't get up, I will do it." The man sounded serious, so Hitsugaya decided not to test whether he would keep his word. Despite the fatigue weighting him down, he forced himself to his feet. He was glad that Ikkaku didn't attack him in the meantime. Judging by the way his legs were protesting against holding his weight, he wouldn't be able to withstand such attack.

"Now that's better," the Third Seat nodded approvingly and charged. Hitsugaya lifted his sword to block, but the power behind Madarame's blow sent him flying. He landed painfully on his back. By some miracle, he kept his grip on his sword.

"What's wrong with you, kid? That's not like you." Ikkaku frowned, as Hitsugaya was struggling to get up. "You could do better when you were in the Eleventh. Or did you lose all your fighting spirit when you left?" The mocking tone in Madarame's voice rubbed the boy the wrong way. Despite the fact that he was barely standing upright, he snapped back at the bald man.

"I have plenty of fighting spirit," he informed him and charged. It was slow and his knees wobbled under him, but Ikkaku's face widened into a grin.

"Now that's it!" he exclaimed. He waited until the boy got close to him, then dodged and with a swipe of the flat side of his sword against the lieutenant's forearms sent his sword flying. Hitsugaya collapsed to his knees, panting heavily.

"Well, will you get up again?" Ikkaku prompted.

"I think he has enough," Renji interjected.

"Don't interfere," the Third Seat scolded him. "This is between the shrimp and me." Hitsugaya shot him a nasty glare. He really hated when people called him shrimp. He grabbed the fallen Hyourinmaru and slowly pushed himself to his feet. Then he lifted his blade to an on guard position.

"I'm ready whenever you are," he stated.

"Don't be ridiculous," Abarai said, but everybody ignored him. Ikkaku only grinned and attacked. Hitsugaya strained to block his first attack and then tried counterattacking. Madarame blocked with ease. He let the boy attack for a while longer before he got bored. After blocking one of Toushirou's wild and sloppy swings he hit him with his sheath. Hitsugaya stumbled and Ikkaku attacked again, this time with his sword. Hitsugaya blocked, but lost his balance and fell. He tried to climb to his feet again, but another swipe from Ikkaku pushed him back down.

"What's this, kid?" the bald man taunted. "You had so much power just a while before, so why can't you even walk now?" Toushirou somehow got his feet under him and lunged at Ikkaku. The Eleventh Divisioner evaded easily and Hitsugaya landed on the ground painfully. "Well, what's wrong with you?" Ikkaku demanded standing over him threateningly.

"Too much strain on my body," the child answered. He wasn't trying to get up anymore. All his remaining strength had been spent on his last attack.

"If it does this to you, then it's a stupid move," Ikkaku scoffed. "Look at yourself, unable to get up. If you used this in battle and didn't get your opponent, you'd be done for."

"I know," Hitsugaya sighed. "That's why I'm training. But I still have a long way to go."

"No kidding," Renji remarked.

"You should just stick to basic kendou, boy," Ikkaku suggested. "That's the right way for a warrior."

"You say it because you're crap at everything else," Hitsugaya retorted.

"I say it because it's true," Madarame insisted.

"Tcha. If you came before I deactivated the Bankai I would have crushed you."

"Bankai? You?" Renji scoffed.

"Didn't you feel the power?" Ikkaku asked. "It was far beyond what I'd expect from his shikai. Many times more."

"Well," Renji had to admit there was something about it, but only to himself. "But Bankai? This shrimp?" It was unbelievable. Bankai was for captains, shinigami strong beyond an ordinary soldier's comprehension, not for scrawny little brats. Even he, who trained with his zanpakutou every free moment, could only dream about it. Even Madarame, who was stronger than most lieutenants, didn't have it. Even Kenpachi didn't.

"Unbelievable as it sounds, I think he wasn't kidding," Ikkaku shrugged.

"Yeah? Brat? What was this?" Abarai demanded. Hitsugaya didn't answer. "Hey! Do you hear me?" the Third Seat leaned down to the boy.

"Looks like he passed out," he observed.

"He's just a child," Renji commented. "What are we going to do with him? Should we take him to the Fourth?"

"Nah," Madarame shook his head. "He can just sleep it off. Bring him to that patch of grass, we still have our training to do."

"Alright."

They started their own practice. But during the whole session, one thought was prominent on both of their minds: _I have to achieve Bankai too. I cannot be shown up by some brat form the Fourth._

.*****************************************************************************************.

He had been doing a surprise inspection on the Seventh Division's patrols in Rukongai and just moving between two of his destinations when he felt it. A Hollow's reiatsu and a strong one. It wasn't a Menos, but it was more than the ordinary shinigami could handle. And when he strained his senses a bit more, he noticed that there were shinigami reiatsu around, but they were almost drowned out by the Hollow's. So somebody was already in trouble. Hitsugaya immediately changed his course and rushed to help them.

The battle site wasn't too far, but it still took him well over a minute to get there. That is a lot of time during a losing battle. It became apparent when Hitsugaya saw two black-clad bodies lying limply on the ground. One shinigami wielding a zanpakutou that looked like a golden whip cracked his weapon and a bolt of lightning struck one of the Hollow's limbs. The next moment the wielder of the lightning-based zanpakutou was punched by another one of the Hollow's paws and thrown into the ground. His companions were fighting valiantly, but it looked like they would soon follow his fate.

Hitsugaya quickly shunpoed to the back of the Hollow's head and swung his zanpakutou with all his might. The Hollow's head and mask were sliced in two cleanly. The huge body dissolved in a cloud of black reishi. He allowed himself a small smile. He could still remember the times when fighting an opponent like this would mean straining his abilities to the max. Now it was nothing worth mentioning.

"Hah!" a familiar voice boasted. "I told you that you stood no chance against me, stupid Hollow!" Hitsugaya had trouble believing his ears. Somebody was actually thinking they were the ones who defeated the Hollow? That was just plain delusional. Though if the voice belonged to the person Hitsugaya suspected, it would be entirely in character. And as the cloud of reishi remaining from the Hollow dissipated, he saw that his suspicion had been correct. There, in front of him stood Yoshitsuna.

The bully hadn't changed much since he had last seen him. He had still the same cocky, arrogant posture that couldn't be diminished even by the bleeding wound on his forehead. The only notable change was the massive golden bracelet he now wore on his left forearm.

"You haven't changed a bit, Yoshitsuna," Hitsugaya stated. The Second Division member blinked, as if he hadn't noticed him before.

"You?" he asked in an unfriendly tone. "What are you doing here, midget?"

"Saving your necks," the white-haired boy replied. He took a look around, to see whether he could recognize some of Yoshitsuna's companions. The wielder of the lightning whip turned out to be Kayaku, Yoshitsuna's always loyal sidekick. One of the bodies lying on the ground Hitsugaya didn't recognize, the other was Kusanagi. He couldn't see any other member of his old unit anywhere. Were these all that was left? Or were the others somewhere else? He hoped they had only transferred in other units, because they couldn't stand the two bullies. It would be too sad if most of his old unit was dead.

"I had it under control," Yoshitsuna snapped. "I don't need any help from children like you."

"Sure," Hitsugaya deadpanned. "That must be why there are so many wounded around and you are bleeding." The boy quickly checked the bodies lying around. None of them was dead. Good. He quickly summoned a Hell Butterfly and sent it for a medical relief unit.

"Don't be cheeky, brat," Yoshitsuna sneered. "You can get in trouble."

"The blood must have gotten into your eyes, so I'll forgive you for this once," Hitsugaya said turning so that his lieutenant's badge was showing clearly. "But you should keep your tongue in check or you'd get in trouble for insubordination."

"I'm the Fourteenth Seat now," Yoshitsuna boasted. "And my cousin Marechiyo..."

"Doesn't outrank me anymore, so he cannot do a thing to save you," Hitsugaya interrupted him. Yoshitsuna blinked. It seemed that he noticed the symbol of Hitsugaya's rank only now.

"You and a lieutenant?" he sneered derogatorily. "Where did you steal this?"

"What did I just tell you about insubordination?" Hitsugaya asked smugly. "That's an insult of a superior officer. I'm so going to report this." The boy was relishing this. Oomaeda might be able to save his relative from the worst punishment, but even he wouldn't be able to prevent all. Getting back at Yoshitsuna for everything the bully had put him through felt very good. Though he wasn't his direct superior anymore, he could finally pull rank on the arrogant noble. His cousin couldn't do anything about it anymore. Hitsugaya felt a sudden urge to cackle evilly, but restrained himself. It would have ruined the mood.

"You're not my superior," Yoshitsuna retorted.

"I am a higher-ranking officer," Hitsugaya pointed out. He wished this reunion happened once he made captain. Yoshitsuna would have an apoplexy out of jealousy. But this was pretty good too.

If looks could kill, Yoshitsuna would have murdered Hitsugaya several times over. But because looks couldn't kill, he could only glower. Toushirou tried to keep the smug smirk off his face, but he was only partly successful. That made Yoshitsuna glare harder.

"Now you're done questioning my authority, you should tend to your men," Hitsugaya suggested. "They look like they need it." Yoshitsuna grumbled, but obeyed.

Deciding he didn't need to wait until the medics arrived, Hitsugaya continued on his way. Once safely out of everybody's sight, he allowed himself a small smile. This had been fun. He wished he could have met more jerks this way.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Among the many duties of the captains was that one of them had to inspect the Academy once a year. That was how Momo had first met Aizen and he had encountered Unohana. And this year it was Komamura's turn. Or maybe the helmeted captain had volunteered for it because he wanted to show his lieutenant how it was done, Hitsugaya wasn't sure. And it didn't really matter.

As they walked towards the huge academy building, Hitsugaya was trying to sort out what he was feeling. This place held so many memories. This was where the crazy lady had dragged him, separating him from Granny for the first time in his life... afterlife... eh... whatever. This was where he had dealt with his classmates' taunts and sneering and endured the bullying of Yoshitsuna's gang. It was on an Academy field trip when he had first seen somebody die.

But it was also here where he had begun learning what he knew. It was here where he had summoned Hyourinmaru and learned to release his power. Here was where he had spent some of the last good times with Hinamori when she had been too busy studying to sing praises to Aizen. And it was during his Academy time he had purified his first Hollow. So was he glad to visit it again or not? He couldn't decide.

He had to cut his musings short when they arrived at the great gate that was the Academy's main entrance. He shouldn't be lost in thoughts now. He had to look like a serious, dignified lieutenant to make good impression on the children. Though he probably shouldn't call the students 'children' when they were older than him. But the gate was opening. He took a deep breath to calm down, schooled his expression and followed Captain Komamura through it.

The Academy was exactly how he remembered it, but observed through older eyes it seemed different. He saw the eagerness in the faces of every student in the crowd gathered in the courtyard. Had he been so eager too? Yes, a part of his brain answered him. So eager that he had climbed a tree to see better and fell on top of another student. Hitsugaya hoped he didn't blush at the memory.

He cut his retrospection and concentrated on the students. Most of them were staring in awe at Komamura. It was understandable. With his huge stature and covered face, the captain commanded respect and awe naturally. But next to his huge bulk, Hitsugaya looked even smaller than he really was and the students of course noticed it. And being young students, of course they couldn't muse about it silently and had to start whispering about it, some of them not bothering making it quiet. Hitsugaya could hear them perfectly.

"He's so small. Is he really a vice-captain?" "He has the badge." "But he's so young. Maybe he stole it somewhere." "Don't be an idiot, he's walking behind a captain." At least somebody had a shred of brainpower here. But most of the students still judged him based on his appearance. That made him dread the day when he would be a captain and have to come to inspect the Academy himself. Would the students think he stole the haori somewhere? Probably. What would they try to do about it? Laugh? Bully him? Some moron would certainly try. And that could end only badly. He really, really wasn't looking forward to it.

But first he had to make sure that this visit didn't end up badly. So lost in his thought he was that he forgot to keep pace with Komamura's long strides. Considering the difference in their height, Hitsugaya often had to run to keep pace with his superior. He hated that it made him look like a child trailing behind his parent, but there was nothing he could do about it.

And now he looked like a child that got lost. While he was so deep in his musings, Komamura had walked around a corner and disappeared from his sight. He quickly rushed to the closest intersection and peeked into the corridor. He couldn't see his captain's giant figure anywhere. He must have entered some room, but which one? There was no indication. Hitsugaya would have to locate him by his reiatsu. Even with so many signatures mingling around, finding a captain should be easy.

But before he could begin, he was approached by a huge guy in the student uniform. The expression on his heavily scarred face was one of downright hatred. Hitsugaya briefly wondered what did he do to warrant it. The young man looked vaguely familiar, but the lieutenant couldn't place him.

"So you showed up even here, shortstuff," the man growled. Hitsugaya was still wracking his brain for where had he seen him before. After a second, he decided that he wasn't going to remember and decided to ask.

"Have we met?"

"Of course," the student scoffed. "The high-and-mighty shinigami wouldn't remember. Why would they bother remembering some thug from Rukongai?"

Oh, now Hitsugaya remembered. Clean, with cut and brushed hair and dressed in new clothes the man didn't resemble Kenpachi so much anymore, but the scars on his face were still the same. Now what was his name?

"Sukihara?" Hitsugaya tried. The man scowled.

"Don't say that! I hate that nickname!" So he had guessed right. And Sukihara or whatever his name was still had the same foul temper.

"We've never been properly introduced," Hitsugaya replied.

"I'd introduce you to my sword," Sukihara growled.

"Be glad you don't have it on you, otherwise I'd have to take action. Attacking a lieutenant is a serious offense, you know," Hitsugaya informed him.

"You a lieutenant?" Sukihara scoffed. "The Gotei 13 is really pathetic."

"What does it make you?" the boy questioned calmly. "You lost to me, remember?"

"You cheated with that magic," Sukihara scoffed.

"It's called Kidou," Hitsugaya corrected. "You should have learned that within your first week here. Or do you have trouble with the lessons? Is that why you are so angry?"

"None of your business, whelp." Hitsugaya took a deep breath to calm his temper. Sukihara was trying it sorely.

"Just be glad you got into the Academy," the lieutenant advised him. "Most people from Rukongai would give anything for that."

"Idiots," the big guy scoffed.

"Why?" Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to scramble for food anymore and you increase your power."

"What power?" Sukihara barked. "I had all the power I wanted! Everybody did what I said! And here I have to obey some stuck-up morons who think they are better than me because they were born in Seireitei! And it is all your fault!"

"Just how it is my fault?" Hitsugaya asked in confusion. The scarred man wasn't making any sense.

"It happened after you came by!" Sukihara snarled. "The ninja came and made me go here! I haven't seen my gang since then!"

"You can visit them," the young lieutenant suggested.

"Why would I want to do that?" the brutish student asked.

"Then what's your problem?"

"Everything!" Sukihara threw his arms around in an all-encompassing gesture.

"I see," Hitsugaya sighed. It looked like the problems were in Sukihara's head. Not that Academy times couldn't be trying on the students, but this one obviously didn't know what he wanted. Only what he didn't want. That attitude would get him only in trouble. "Look, Sukihara..."

"I said don't call me that!" the bulky student looked ready to attack, but Hitsugaya ignored him.

"I get that you don't like the fact you can't boss people around anymore,"

"Damn right," Sukihara said.

"but we can't all have what we want. You've been given an opportunity," here Sukihara scoffed, "so you should do your best and take it. With your power, you can easily make it to an officer so you'll have people to boss around again." Now the student looked mildly interested, but also moderately skeptical. It looked like he liked the prospect, but didn't believe it would come to pass. "But if you don't improve your attitude, you're only going to end up arrested or killed. Or stuck as an unseated soldier forever. So stop whining and put your act together. Whatever happens from now on is only up to you."

"Don't play smart, brat," Sukihara scoffed, but there wasn't as much venom in his words as it used to be. "I've already figured out how things work here. Nobles get everything handed to them on silver platter and we have to struggle for crumbs."

"Not quite," Hitsugaya shook his head. "Don't blame your failures on someone else or you'll never succeed. And now go. I have places to be and so do you." Without waiting for an answer, he pushed past Sukihara. The student didn't like it. He tried to grab Toushirou's shoulder, but the boy evaded his hand.

"Don't do such things or you'll get in trouble," he said, releasing a bit of his reiatsu. That made Sukihara take an involuntary step back. "Go to your classroom." The icy look in Hitsugaya's eyes made the former Rukongai thug obey. Even he could tell when he was being confronted with superior power. He scrambled away. Hitsugaya watched him go until he disappeared around the corner. This encounter made him uncomfortable. Once again he recalled his own time at the Academy. He too had been dragged here without really wanting to be here. But he had learned to appreciate the gifts offered to him. Would Sukihara eventually learn it too? There was no way to know. For now, he had to find Komamura and continue with the inspection.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya was silently cursing Hinamori. He had been perfectly content with knowing his captain only as 'the big guy in the helmet,' but once the bubbly girl had asked about his true appearance with her usual childish curiosity, he found himself curious about it too. Once the question had been asked, Hitsugaya realized that there would be no rest for him until he knew the answer. He had resisted the impulse for months valiantly, but in the end, it proved to be stronger than he. He just had to uncover the mystery or it was going to drive him crazy.

It was driving him especially crazy since last month. That day during their sparring match Hitsugaya had come close to actually injuring Komamura, but in the end only cut his sleeve. The captain managed to dodge surprisingly fast. It seemed that he had been improving during their duels too. Hitsugaya was almost sure that when they began training well over a year ago, he wouldn't have been able to avoid such hit.

But that wasn't what captivated his attention so much. It was what he saw when the torn fabric flapped and revealed what was underneath. It was fur. Reddish-brown fur. Was Komamura wearing tight-fitting fur clothing under his shihakushou? Why would he do it? It must be uncomfortably hot. Hitsugaya shuddered when he imagined it. He couldn't stand heat. Or was Komamura's skin covered in fur? Was that why he was hiding his appearance? It would make sense, except this was Seireitei. It was inhabited by all kinds of weird people. A guy covered in fur wouldn't be that strange in comparison. Or was Komamura shy? It was hard to imagine the giant as shy. Was he perhaps incredibly ugly? There was just one way to know.

Hitsugaya realized that now was his chance. Komamura was fast asleep on his desk. It was something that had never happened before. Usually the captain made sure to get inside his room and close to door before falling asleep. But in the last three days several minor things went wrong, requiring the attention of both the captain and the lieutenant to sort out and everything was quite hectic. As a result, they both were quite tired and Komamura fell asleep on his desk.

Hitsugaya felt like falling asleep where he stood too, but the opportunity he saw in front of him didn't allow him to do so. He knew that it could take months or years before Komamura would fall asleep in a public place again and by then he might not be in the Seventh Division anymore. This probably was the only opportunity he would ever get and if he didn't take it, he'd never learn the mystery of Komamura's appearance.

But he still hesitated. Breaching somebody's privacy like this was a bad thing to do. His conscience reminded him of it loudly. But his curiosity was just too strong. He knew he'd regret it forever if he didn't take the chance to learn Komamura's secret. But what if he tried to do so and the captain suddenly woke up? He'd be so deep in trouble. Was sating his curiosity really worth it? Yes. The answer came easy. Hitsugaya could never resist a mystery. But he was still wary of getting caught. If he tried to remove Komamura's helmet, the captains was bound to wake up. He couldn't be possibly tired enough to sleep through something like this. There was a faint chance that the giant man was naturally a heavy sleeper, but Toushirou wouldn't bet on it.

He had to try something different. Something Komamura would never know about. But what? Peeking through the slits in his helmet seemed like an obvious solution. He wouldn't have to touch the captain this way, so the danger of being discovered was minimal. There was nothing to fear.

With that thought in mind, he walked slowly towards the slumbering captain. He made sure his feet made no sound as he moved across the polished wooden floors. Finally he was standing next to Komamura. His conscience made one last attempt at talking him out of it, but once he had started moving, Hitsugaya wouldn't be persuaded to quit.

Because he couldn't look into the slits from the ground, he climbed onto the desk carefully. The whole time he was afraid that the desk would move under his weight and the sleeping captain would wake, but it didn't happen. The massive piece of furniture didn't even twitch and Komamura slept on. Hitsugaya pushed the voice of his conscience repeating that this wasn't a good idea and peeked into the slits on Komamura's helmet. His curiosity demanded no less.

All he could see was darkness. Figures. There was a lot of light in the office and the slits in the helmet were really narrow. Of course the light wouldn't be sufficient to see anything inside, especially if Hitsugaya's head was blocking most of it. That made the white-haired boy wonder how could Komamura see in his helmet. Or was he perhaps blind just like his old friend Tousen? There was just one way to find out. He had to somehow illuminate the interior of the helmet.

The question was how. They didn't keep candles or flashlights in the office. In the improbable case that the lights stopped working, every shinigami could make light using kidou. But using kidou meant giving off reiatsu and that might wake up the slumbering man. Hitsugaya wasn't sure he could risk it. He could still return and pretend this never happened. And let the unsatisfied curiosity gnaw on him. No, he had gone too far already. He had to see this through no matter what.

He took a deep breath to steady his suddenly racing heart and created a glowing ball on his fingertips. Then a big hand grasped his wrist. Toushirou shrieked and jumped backwards. That caused him to fall from the desk. If the hand didn't let go of his forearm, he would have broken something. He landed on the ground and gazed at the towering figure of Komamura-taichou, who was suddenly very much again.

"What are you doing?" the masked captain thundered

"I... uh..." The boy blushed he suddenly felt very young and embarrassed. What had he been thinking, trying to breach his captain's privacy this way and believing he'd get away with it?

Komamura looked down as his lieutenant squirmed like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He had a good idea what his Second Seat had been up to. Trying to get a look under his helmet was a traditional dare in the Seventh Division. Usually it were new recruits trying it. For a lieutenant to pull this off... well, it had happened before, but that didn't make the offense any less. Such disrespect for privacy was inexcusable. Couldn't they understand that he had a reason for hiding his face?

"You were trying to get a peek at my face, weren't you?" he asked accusatorily.

Hitsugaya hung his head in shame. Then he nodded.

"Did you ever consider you could ask?"

"Uh..." the truth was that Toushirou didn't. Because Komamura went to great lengths to hide his appearance, he didn't think that he would have showed it to anybody who asked.

"You didn't, did you?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Didn't you stop to consider that I have a reason for not showing my face? Or didn't you care?" It was the second possibility and Hitsugaya's face showed it. "Such behavior is understandable in a child, but not in a lieutenant of the Gotei 13. You should have a better impulse control, especially if you want to become a captain."

"I'm sorry," Hitsugaya said. In that moment, he looked like a kicked puppy. That made Komamura pause. He loved puppies and hated people who kicked them. He felt some of his anger dissipating. Had he spoken too harshly in his anger and made a big deal out of a simple case of a child being a child? Because at this moment he couldn't deny that his lieutenant was just a child. He might be strong and smart, but he still retained some childish qualities, namely an insatiable curiosity. Was it right to punish him for it?

But this child was no ordinary child. He was a shinigami. He was a lieutenant and he would become a captain soon. Lives of his subordinates and other souls depended on his decisions. He couldn't afford to act on childish impulses or people would get killed. He had to learn it now, while he still had a superior to keep him in line. He didn't punish him harshly, but he let him know just how displeased he was.

Hitsugaya took it all silently. He knew what he had done was bad. He didn't mind the extra duties Komamura heaped on him, but he could feel that something changed between them. Some kind of trust he hadn't realized they had developed had been broken. He missed it already. And he feared that it would never be like it used to.

Things became strained between the two commanding officers of the Seventh Division after the incident. Outwardly everything looked just as usual, but the tension was apparent to everybody who bothered to look hard enough. Hitsugaya resolved not to let his childish impulses rule him again. He applied himself to his duties and studies even harder and he always tried his hardest to act and look mature. He didn't always succeed, but that only prompted him to try even harder.

When he saw Hinamori again and the girl asked him whether he knew how Komamura looked under his helmet now, he snapped at her. The girl recoiled and looked like she was going to cry. He immediately tried to apologize, but Momo wasn't in the mood for it, told him he was a rude brat and left. Hitsugaya's first impulse was to run after her, but he didn't know what he should say to her. And she would probably talk him into trying to peek under Komamura's helmet again. So he let her go. He wondered whether it wasn't the wrong thing to do.


	18. Captain's Exam

**Author's** **note:** Chapter 18 finally here. Sorry it took so long. I had most of the chapter written ages ago, but the few scenes that were missing were the toughest to write and I got stuck on them big time. In fact all that's not writen of this story yet are scenes that are hard to write. Next chapter shouldn't take so long to complete, but I make no promises.

There's also an illustration on my DA account. Whoever read this far sould know where to find it.

Enough ranting, on with the story.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**On the Frozen Plain – Captain's Exam**

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The disembodied giant's arm swung close to the ground. The humongous sword it held in its grip threatened to cleave in half whatever stood in its path. Hitsugaya leapt high above it and sent an ice dragon flying at the sword's wielder. The giant arm retracted with surprising speed, blocking the ice projectile before it could reach Komamura. Ice shards flew everywhere, momentarily obscuring the masked captain's vision. Hitsugaya used the opportunity to shunpo behind him and launch a sneak attack. The giant arm that was Komamura's shikai suddenly vanished. Komamura assumed a seemingly nonsensical fighting stance. _What is he trying to do? _Hitsugaya wondered while racing towards Komamura's unprotected back. From this position he'd have no way to block Hitsugaya's attack.

Almost as soon as he thought that, the disembodied giant arm reappeared again, this time right next to Hitsugaya. The boy had just enough time to look surprised before the arm moved. Komamura's strange stance suddenly made perfect sense. The giant blade was sweeping in to bisect Hitsugaya and he was in a bad position for dodging. He attempted it anyway, trying to block the incoming blade with Hyourinmaru. Tengen's giant sword crashed into it, sending him flying. Hitsugaya made a sommersault in the air and landed on his feet. His arms were reeling from the strength of the blow, but he had gotten accustomed to the feeling a long time ago. Every time he sparred with Komamura he had been knocked around at least three times. But lastely he could withstand it without sustaining an injury, so he didn't mind so much anymore.

Komamura used the moment when Hitsugaya was regaining his bearings to shunpo close to him. The giant blade was once again bearing on Hitsugaya. The boy shunpoed out of the way. He sent an ice dragon flying at Komamura, but the captain blocked. Hitsugaya then tried another close-up attack, but Tengen's blade stopped him again. He shunpoed away. This was going nowhere. It was time to knock the battle up a notch.

He shunpoed upwards, as high as he could get in one step. That got him safely out of reach of anything Komamura could throw at him. As he began falling, he concentrated on raising his reiatsu.

"Bankai: Daiguren Hyourinmaru," he called. The ice armor enveloped him and wings sprouted from his back. Despite all the training he did, releasing his Bankai still took more time than he was comfortable with. Therefore he always tried to get out of his opponent's reach when he released it.

"Bankai: Kokujou Tengen Myouou!" Komamura echoed. A crouching armored giant came into existence behind him, slowly standing up, displaying its full height.

Hitsugaya regulated his fall with his wings. He tried to get behind Tengen's neck. If he could attack from that angle, the giant would have no way to defend. Komamura knew it too, so he made the giant turn to face Hitsugaya. The boy changed his course again, trying to outflank him. Komamura swung his sword and the giant copied the motion. The giant blade headed straight at Hitsugaya. The boy had to veer of his course quickly to avoid being hit. Tengen's attacks hurt even if he blocked them, so he preferred to dodging them whenever possible.

Still midflight, Hitsugaya sent an ice dragon at the giant, but it was blocked effortlessly. The opportunity for a devastating attack was lost. Hitsugaya stopped his flight, and landed, facing his opponent and considering his next move.

Hitsugaya observed his opponent intently. After all their spars, he had acquired a good understanding of the masked captain's fighting style. He could now tell with a glance what the giant was going to do next. Well, most of the time. And right now it looked like he'd try to smash him with a direct hit from above, which was Komamura's favorite tactic. Hitsugaya waited for when he began the movement and then quickly shunpoed to the side, appearing next to the giant's leg. A swing with Hyourinmaru created an Ice dragon aiming at Tengen's ankle. It was too fast to avoid. The giant's kick nearly shattered it, but the Bankai took damage and Komamura with it. Ever since Hitsugaya had discovered this weakness, he was quick to capitalize on it. Having a huge target for his attacks was really convenient.

The giant's kick threatened to smash him, so the boy flash stepped away. Komamura turned to face him. He made it just in time to block two ice dragons flying at him. As the shards from the shattered attack fell to the ground, he realized he couldn't see his opponent anymore. His reiatsu sense let him know that Hitsugaya was now behind him. He swung his arm behind. Tengen's sword aimed right at the boy's midsection. Hitsugaya blocked with Hyourinmaru. He had to use both hands and the impact threw him back, but he survived it unharmed.

He swung his wings and flew high. He shot several dragons at the masked captain from the distance, but Tenken's giant sword crushed them easily. Hitsugaya used the distraction to swoop down and fly close to Komamura. The captain noticed it and moved the giant samurai to intercept him. But as Hitsugaya was flying low, he had to bow low to accomplish so. That restricted his field of vision. Hitsugaya used it to shunpo behind the Samurai's back. Tengen was just straightening up when Hitsugaya's ice dragon hit him in the back. He stumbled a bit, but didn't fall. Hitsugaya fired another attack. This time Komamura managed to turn partially and bat it away with the giant's fist. His sword whistled through the air, aiming at Hitsugaya. The boy was a bit slow to dodge and was thrown to the ground. He landed painfully, but he quickly sprang to his feet. The giant samurai was above him again, about to stomp on him. Hitsugaya shunpoed away in the nick of time. He counterattacked quickly, but Komamura blocked.

The duel continued in the same vein for a while longer. Both opponents were attacking fiercely, but neither of them was able to score a decisive hit. Only Hitsugaya's ice petals were disappearing, while Komamura looked like he could go for another hour.

"Enough," the captain decided when he saw that there was only one petal of his lieutenant's Bankai remaining. Hitsugaya sheathed his sword gratefully. If Komamura hadn't called the fight off, he would have been forced to yield. Even now he struggled to catch his breath and remain upright. The fatigue following every release of Bankai either wasn't as bad as it used to be or he was getting used to it, but it still made him feel like he'd lie down and sleep for a week.

"This was good enough," Komamura stated. Hitsugaya nodded, only half listening what the giant man was saying. "I'll suggest you for captaincy soon." Hitsugaya nodded again before Komamura's words registered. His head snapped up.

"What?"

"I said I'd recommend your promotion soon," the masked man repeated.

"But..." Up to now, captaincy was a faraway prospect, something that wouldn't happen anytime soon. But suddenly it loomed very close and the boy found it intimidating. "You still beat me."

"You held your own," Komamura disagreed.

"I was running out of time. You could have defeated me easily."

"I know," the helmeted man nodded, "but you held your own for twenty minutes and I wasn't holding back on you. You are good enough."

"Are you sure?" Hitsugaya didn't feel his certainty. He knew how much he still didn't learn.

"Yes," Komamura confirmed. "Your combat abilities are enough for a captain and your knowledge should be fine too. You can pass the Exam now."

"Maybe, but do you honestly think I'll be a fine captain?" He didn't feel like he was a fine vice-captain. He had eventually made the division obey him, but he still felt that he was widely unpopular with them.

"You've been learning about leading a division for two years. You did well with all the assignments I gave you. Lately, I didn't have to correct anything."

"I'm still not sure it's enough."

"I think you could have taken and passed the Exam at least half a year ago, if not earlier. I gave you more time to improve and gain more confidence about your abilities."

"If you say so," Hitsugaya shrugged.

"I say so. I'm going to write the recommendation now."

.*****************************************************************************************.

After that, life became a hectic rush for Hitsugaya. Despite Komamura's reassurance, he felt very anxious about the upcoming Exam. He spent every minute reviewing his knowledge, doing last minute studies on a number of obscure subjects a captain might be required to know, practicing kidou they might want him to show and training with Hyourinmaru. It was so much strain on him that Komamura had to order him to rest or he would collapse before the exam started. He then scolded him that a captain has to know his limits and not to push past them, especially not when there was an important battle ahead. That didn't help Hitsugaya's anxiety any. He couldn't get any rest because he kept imagining all the training and studying he was missing thanks to his forced inactivity and how the committee was going to ask him the exact things he wasn't studying right now. So after just a day of forced inaction that didn't make him feel rested at all, he plunged straight into studying and training again. And so the time passed until the day of the Captain's Exam arrived.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The Tenth was an unlucky division. Especially when it came to their captains. It was said that they never lasted long and it was hard to find replacements. The last captain of the Tenth died eighty years ago and since then there had been nobody to take the mantle. And when a captain-class shinigami did finally appear, he or she would be assigned somewhere else. First to replace the promoted Twelfth's captain. Then to replace those lost in the mysterious incident ten years later. Fifth, Ninth, Seventh, Second, Twelfth, Eleventh, Sixth and lastly Third got their new captains, but the Tenth didn't. Needless to say, the shinigami of the Tenth felt neglected or outright abandoned.

At first, it wasn't so bad. Lieutenant Ogawa was a pillar the whole division leaned onto, his expert leadership and superior skills in battle giving everybody the sense of security they so desperately needed. But that didn't last forever. Ogawa-fukutaichou was killed in battle and the division was heartbroken. The former Third Seat, Nakashima Hanae, became the new fukutaichou.

At first she seemed to do well, but soon problems arose. It was because she was always so nice to everybody. She felt that her underlings were heartbroken and needed time to get over it. In the meantime, she decided to be nice on them to make it easier for them. She tended to forgive her subordinates even for transgressions that shouldn't have been forgiven and that made them think they could get away with anything. The once iron discipline of the Tenth began slipping. Nakashima underestimated the signs.

It slapped her in the face when a whole unit was lost, thanks to some of their members thinking orders were optional suggestions and also thanks to their slacking off during training. She tried to enforce stricter discipline, but she didn't have the heart to dish out serious punishment. She tried to explain to her subordinates why they should apply themselves more like her great idol, Captain Unohana often did. Unfortunately she forgot one key fact: Unohana was scary. She was not. Nakashima's attempts failed and the morale and discipline deteriorated further. Disheartened, she decided to retire and leave the division in the hands of someone more competent.

That would have been a clever thing to do if her successor actually was competent. Unfortunately competent lieutenants don't grow on trees and the one picked as her replacement had plenty of shortcomings on his own. Takeuchi Atsuto had no trouble dishing out punishment, but he didn't consider it necessary to find out who he should be punishing. He lived by the philosophy that even if you didn't know why did a subordinate deserved a punishment, they knew, so he never felt the need to stay his hand. The impression that you could get punished even without doing anything wrong lowered the morale further. And when his 'new, revolutionary training methods' and 'superb, innovative tactics' turned to be completely ineffective and the cause of death of more shinigami, the command decided that enough was enough and 'retired' Takeuchi with the assistance of the Onmitsukidou.

After that, Yokoyama Tarou was appointed the Tenth Division Lieutenant. He didn't have any glaring fault, but he didn't have any significant virtue either. He was more a bureaucrat than a leader and had no idea how to command a division. He could hand out orders and oversee the training, but he had no idea how to raise morale or improve the discipline. If he had to punish everybody who did something wrong, there would be too few people left to perform duties. Yet for a while it seemed that things were improving for the Tenth.

A little over a year after his appointment, Ichimaru Gin took the Captain's Exam and the Tenth was hopeful that they would actually have a real captain after all the time, but then Ichimaru got assigned to the Third, which was perfectly fine under Lieutenant Iba. Nobody in the Tenth understood the decision. Was it because Iba Chikane wanted to retire? She was old, but she was still strong and sharp enough. She could lead her division for many more years or decades until another captain candidate appeared.

That seemed to be the final nail into the coffin of Tenth's spirit. Many members began to whisper that they were doomed and they would never get a captain again. Someone even started a rumor that the Tenth would be eventually disbanded. It was nonsense, but it sounded believable to too many people. Yokoyama couldn't stop or disprove the rumors. No matter what he did, the division was falling apart under his hands.

But less than two years later, good tidings finally came. There was somebody taking the Captain's Exam and because there was no other captainless division than theirs, they should finally get their captain. Spirits rose once again.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The day of the exam dawned bright and clear. It was at odds with Hitsugaya's mood. He thought that cloudy or even stormy would be more appropriate.

"_**That's easy to arrange," **_Hyourinmaru remarked.

"_Rather not," _Hitsugaya shook his head. _"The committee might not like a candidate who cannot control his reiatsu."_

"_**As you wish, master," **_the ice dragon shrugged. _**"But I still think some snow would be nice."**_

"_Me too," _his wielder agreed, _"but maybe the sun is good too. Maybe it shines on a better tomorrow."_

"_**When did you get so poetic?" **_the dragon raised an eyebrow. _**"And what do you count as a better tomorrow?"**_

"_I wish I knew." _He still wasn't sure whether becoming a captain was a good thing. It certainly was going to put to a test his abilities and perseverance. But now was too late to back off. Everybody including Hitsugaya agreed that the Tenth needed new leadership pronto and there was no-one else to take the mantle. So he'll do his best to stand up to the challenge.

He checked himself in the mirror. His hair stood at its ends, just as ever. He tried to smooth it, but it did him little good. Would the committee frown at him if he looked untidy? Looking presentable would certainly help and he felt like he needed any help. But a tidy appearance couldn't be too important. Kenpachi was a captain too and nobody could imagine him looking tidy. But he had never taken the exam. But Kurotsuchi had passed it and he looked like a madman. And he was one, according to the rumors. His one encounter with the scientist cemented the belief.

"_**You know what the committee certainly won't like?" **_Hyourinmaru interrupted his racing thoughts. _**"Tardiness." **_With a start, Hitsugaya realized that it was almost time to go. Hyourinmaru was right, coming late would no doubt look bad for him. And he realized that despite not looking forward to what lay ahead of him, he wanted to succeed in the exam.

"_Let's go," _he stated, trying to muster some courage. Then he headed for the First Division.

The imposing buildings of the First Division were the same as ever, yet they looked somehow more imposing. But that was probably only Hitsugaya's imagination. It weren't the buildings that were intimidating him. It was the prospect of what was awaiting him inside. He remembered the hell Kyouraku, Ukitake and Komamura had put him through after they found out he had Bankai. He didn't doubt that the real Captain's Exam was going to be tougher. Granted, he was a lot better now that he used to be back then, but he didn't know whether it was enough.

"_**You're going to find out soon enough, master," **_Hyourinmaru said.

"_You're right, Hyourinmaru," _Hitsugaya replied, gathered his courage and walked through the gate. There was nobody to tell him where exactly in the complex the Exam was going to take place. He took it as the first test. It was easy to locate several powerful reiatsu gathered in one place. The boy headed there. He reached the place shortly, having to turn back at a dead end only once.

The Captain's Exams started in a small room that looked perfectly ordinary. If it was designed that way to put the candidates at ease, it failed with Hitsugaya. He still felt so anxious he had to consciously stop his hands from trembling. His heart was beating so loud and fast it was a wonder that everybody in the room didn't hear it.

Speaking of everybody in the room, the committee seemed to have assembled already. Komamura was there as the captain who had recommended him. Yamamoto was there because he had to sit on every Captain's Exam as per the regulations. Unohana was there, because she might be needed. For that reason she had attended every Captain's Exam held since her inauguration. It was good to know that she was there prepared to heal the candidate if something happened to him, but it was disconcerting that she had to be there, because it implied that severe injuries were common during the Exam. The next person there was Captain Tousen. It was unclear why he came. He was sitting straight, his white eyes staring at nothing and for once he wasn't preaching about Justice. It made Toushirou think that there might be something wrong with his ears for a moment. Then there was Captain Kyouraku, who said that he just had to see this. Captain Ukitake came too, claiming that he wanted to support 'Little Shiro-chan.' Hitsugaya braced himself for being showered in candy afterwards.

He was also startled that half of the current captains showed up when only three were required to attend the Exam. Were they really so interested in his performance? Did they come to congratulate him or laugh at his failure? He didn't know. It added a lot to the pressure he felt. He fought his hardest to stay calm. It didn't matter how many captains were there, the Exam was going to stay the same. He had to concentrate on passing it and everything would be alright.

After several minutes of waiting when no-one else came into the room and no-one moved, it was finally time to begin the exam. Yamamoto announced it by tapping his cane on the floor. It was a bit funny to see him doing it while sitting on the ground. Toushirou had to fight to keep his face straight. He chastised himself. He should concentrate on the Exam, not get distracted by every little thing and find everything funny. A captain had to stay composed no matter what was going on so breaking down during the Exam would fail him immediately.

When the first question came, he nearly missed what Yamamoto was asking. He snapped out of his musings just in time to answer while a part of his brain was pondering whether it was a trick question. Why was something like that even important? He scanned the faces of the gathered captains for an indication of what did they think about his answer, but they showed nothing. It wasn't reassuring, but it wasn't discouraging either. Then a second question came, this time from Unohana. Hitsugaya answered it as well. Then Tousen spoke. And Hitsugaya answered again. After several minutes, Hitsugaya started to feel calmer. If they didn't throw him out yet, he must be doing something right, mustn't he? That increased his confidence. But he tried not to get overconfident. That would get him in trouble for sure.

Then the phase of weird personal questions was over and the part of important knowledge came. The questions reminded Hitsugaya of the mock-exam, but there was one important difference: he could actually answer most of them, though the faces of his examiners didn't show whether it was to their satisfaction or not. They drilled him on everything from history to law to the workings of various devices, physics of the worlds, known Hollows and battle strategies. It lasted for hours and by the end of it Hitsugaya felt like his brain was going to pour out of his ears. But the committee still didn't kick him out, so he took it to mean that he had passed his part. That meant that the practical part of the Exam could begin.

The Kidou part of the exam resembled the trial version Kyouraku, Ukitake and Komamura had put him through two years ago very much. Once again it was _'Which spells do you know?' 'What's the highest spell you can cast without incantation?' 'What combinations of spells can you cast?' 'Show us spell XY.'_ The major difference was that now he could answer most of the examiners' questions. He could even spot when they were trying to trick him by adding wrong number to a certain spell. The first time he had almost missed it, but he kept more attention afterwards. He reckoned it was a stealth test of his observation abilities.

Next came the test of Hohou. He had to race against Kyouraku-taichou and he lost badly. He knew that his former captain was one of the best in the Gotei 13 when it came to shunpo, but he would have never believed the seemingly lazy man could move so fast if he hadn't seen it with his own two eyes. And Kyouraku didn't seem to be even trying. Hitsugaya was sure that he had done badly in this part, but Yamamoto just said they were moving on to the next test. And Ukitake might have smiled encouragingly, but Hitsugaya wasn't sure whether he had seen it right.

Unlike the mock exam, there weren't any separate tests of Hakuda and Zanjutsu. After the Hohou test it was time for the last exam. Hitsugaya's anxiety returned as he followed the procession of the captains to the site of the last test. The sight of the huge area surrounded by a Kidou barrier with numerous members of Kidou Corps working on keeping it up would put a dent in the confidence of everybody. He tried not to look too intimidated as Yamamoto gestured for him to enter. The final test was the most important one and it was the one which could decide the result of the whole Exam. Hitsugaya was determined to do his best.

The final part of the Exam was generally the most dreaded. He had to show his combat skills against a captain. And he didn't know who it was going to be, so he couldn't prepare beforehand. He had studied whatever he could about all of the current captains, but there wasn't much information available. It was understandable; nobody wanted his skills to become commonly known, so they could surprise their opponents. So until he walked into the arena surrounded by a powerful barrier maintained by countless members of the Kidou Corps, he had no idea who he was going to be facing. He couldn't help but feel anxious. What if he ended up facing Kyouraku? Oreven Yamamoto himself? Or Soifon, who could kill him before he'd realize the fight started? Or even Kenpachi? He might end up chopped to pieces. While he hadn't seen neither Soifon nor Kenpachi today yet, it didn't mean that they wouldn't show up. Especially Zaraki never missed an opportunity to fight.

Therefore he was pleasantly surprised when he saw the figure of his opponent. He immediately recognized the dark figure in long-sleeved haori with his trademark scarf and glasses. Tousen Kaname was promoted to captain only a little less than two decades ago and he wasn't known for being particularly strong. But that didn't mean he was weak. That word couldn't really be associated with any of the captains.

There was also the matter that Hitsugaya felt exhausted after everything he had gone through today. Even if he would be able to defeat his opponent on a good day, he wouldn't be fighting at his top now. That might have been on purpose. After all, a captain has to be able to fight even wounded and exhausted. But Hitsugaya's fatigue was more mental than physical. He had exerted little reiatsu during the physical tests. And even his mental exhaustion wasn't as bad as he had initially feared. Hitsugaya always felt calmer during battle. As he grasped Hyourinmaru's hilt in his hands, he could feel his worries flowing away. He was feeling more centered and calmer. Soon, he reached almost his optimal fighting condition. He was going to show a good fight now. If Tousen thought he could defeat him easily because Toushirou was a child, he had a nasty surprise in store for him. In fact, Hitsugaya felt pretty confident that he could win if he tried hard enough and he intended to do just that.

The two combatants stood facing each other in the middle of the arena. They greeted each other with a bow and waited for the signal to begin. When it finally came, they both unsheathed their zanpakutou. For a moment, neither moved, both waiting for the other one to make the first move. Tousen moved first. Hitsugaya was barely able to follow his shunpo. He noticed just enough to know where the attack would come from. He turned on his heel and positioned Hyourinmaru to block it. Steel met steel with a loud clang and Hitsugaya was sent skidding backwards. Tousen certainly wasn't pulling his punches.

The blind captain pushed his advantage and followed with another strike. This time Toushirou was better prepared. He batted the strike aside, letting Tousen's blade slide along his own, and stepped closer to him. He intended to get inside his guard and attack from there, but the dark-skinned man saw through the maneuver. He kicked and Hitsugaya was forced to jump over his leg. He swung Hyourinmaru overhead, aiming at Tousen's head, but the blind captain was too fast to allow it to happen. Suzumushi whistled through the air and Hitsugaya was hard-pressed to block. He used the force of the blow to propel himself sideways and distance himself from his opponent.

While still airborne, he considered his options for a moment. So far, he found out that Tousen was strong, though nowhere as strong as Komamura, fast and well-aware of his surroundings, despite his blindness. It looked like he'd have to try harder if he wanted to win. Even though victory wasn't necessary for his promotion, it would make him look better. And he needed any bonus points he could get, because there were enough people who thought a child shouldn't become a captain. He decided to try a trick that usually surprised his opponents, at least those who had never seen it before.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he burst forward in a shunpo. Tousen didn't miss it, but he expected the standard maneuver where the attacker aims for his target's back. He positioned Suzumushi to block. Almost too late he realized that it wasn't Hitsugaya's intent. The small shinigami did indeed appear behind his back, but he was crouching low, his blade aiming for his knees. He couldn't block it in his current stance. His only chance was evasion. He burst into shunpo immediately, but he couldn't avoid the strike completely. But instead of a crippling wound there was only a shallow gash on the upper part of his right calf.

"First blood goes to Hitsugaya Toushirou," Yamamoto, who was acting as the referee, announced, but the two combatants paid him no mind. Hitsugaya flashed forward in another shunpo, pursuing Tousen. The blind man didn't wait for him and flashed to the other side of the arena. They paused for a moment, eyeing each other. Then Tousen attacked, trying to overwhelm Hitsugaya with a flurry of blows. The white-haired boy was a bit surprised at first, nothing like that had ever happened in his spars with Komamura, and he was forced to retreat. But then he gathered his bearings. Tousen was fast, but he wasn't significantly faster than him. He had plenty of experience with fighting faster opponents from his time in the Second. If he concentrated enough, he had no trouble blocking. And he was the one with longer blade; he should take advantage of it.

The next time he noticed a tiny opening in Tousen's advance, he stepped forward, getting inside his opponent's guard. Last time Tousen had tried to kick him, so this time he prepared for it. He jumped a fraction of a second before Tousen's leg began moving. His right foot landed on the dark-skinned captain's knee. His left foot shot forward, heading straight for his stomach. Tousen swung Suzumushi aiming at Hitsugaya's midsection, but it hit only the blade of Hyourinmaru. But the force of the strike was enough to throw Toushirou off-balance, so when his foot connected with Tousen's stomach, it made him only grunt instead of knocking out his breath.

Hitsugaya rolled on the ground, quickly jumping to his feet. He was just in time to block Tousen's furious attack. The kick to his stomach must have hurt a lot, because the blind captain looked pissed. As the captain was readying himself for another strike, Toushirou sprung forward. Tousen moved to block, but Hitsugaya dropped down, sliding under his sword. Then he stabbed upwards. Tousen kicked him in the chest and sent him flying backwards, but not before the tip of Hyourinmaru pierced something.

Hitsugaya landed on his back and scrambled to his feet painfully. Tousen kicked really hard. He thought he felt some of his ribs cracking, the pain certainly suggested some injury. He searched for the blind captain. He saw him still standing on the last spot, his left hand examining a wound near his hip. It didn't seem like he did any real damage, unless he counted Tousen's pride. Something changed in the dark-skinned captain's stance and he had a sinking feeling he knew what it meant.

"It seems you really can fight, child," the Ninth-division captain spoke. "Very well then, time for games is over. Cry, Suzumushi!"

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru," Hitsugaya spoke through clenched teeth. His aching ribs made speaking extremely painful. The dragon of ice formed in front of him and immediately was nearly shattered by the sound waves of Suzumushi. But it prevented the attack from reaching Hitsugaya. The white-haired boy immediately formed two more dragons. One he kept close for defense, the other he sent to attack. Suzumushi sang again, this time louder. The attacking dragon shattered, but ice remained ice and all ice was under Hitsugaya's control. The shards continued forward, aiming for Tousen. The blind captain realized that they weren't about to stop and shunpoed out of the way. Hitsugaya sent another dragon after him. Tousen dodged easily.

They continued the game for a little longer. Toushirou didn't dare to get too close to Tousen, for fear of being hit by Suzumushi's cry, Tousen dodging the ice dragons and trying to get closer, but always being blocked. Tousen was the first one to break the status quo.

"Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikou". Spikes formed as he swung his sword and flew towards Hitsugaya. The boy quickly flash-stepped away. It proved to be a wise decision. The spikes had so much power behind them that they pierced through the ice dragon he kept close for protection. Almost as soon as all of this registered, Tousen appeared next to him, sword poised for strike. Hitsugaya swung Hyourinmaru's chain and it wrapped around Suzumushi's blade. Ice immediately formed around it.

"Cry, Suzumushi," the dark-skinned captain commanded and the ice shattered. Before he could do anything else, Hitsugaya was upon him, the blade of Hyourinmaru flying through the air, aiming to slice him in the middle. And his sword was still wrapped in the chain, so he couldn't block in time. He couldn't even dodge without losing his weapon. He tried dodging anyway. With a mighty pull he freed the blade of Suzumushi from Hyourinmaru's chain, but it was too late to avoid its edge. A deep wound opened in his side and this one really hurt. But even through the pain he managed to use his special ability. Suzumushi cried and its voice hit Hitsugaya from close proximity.

The young shinigami screamed and collapsed to the ground. His eardrums felt like they were going to burst and his head was spinning. He fought to remain conscious. _I have to get away, _he thought. It didn't matter where, he just had to move. He gathered the spiritrons under his feet and moved away with a shunpo. It made his head spin even worse, but he didn't faint. He could also feel his head clearing. He saw Tousen standing on the other end of the arena, frantically trying to stop the bleeding. It looked like the last wound was deeper that Hitsugaya thought. He smirked. It looked like Tousen wasn't trained in medical arts.

He waited for a while before his ears stopped ringing and he could stand upright without the danger of falling. By the time even Tousen managed to stop the bleeding. It was a bit clumsy, but his attempt at healing Kidou did its job.

"It looks like I really cannot take it easy on you," the blind captain spoke. Behold my final form: Ban Kai!"

'_Crap,' _Toushirou thought. _'I have no idea what does it do.'_ He watched as Tousen spun the ring on his sword's guard. Rings of metal separated from it, flying in all directions. He thought they would strike him and lifted Hyourinmaru to block them, but they missed him widely.

"Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Kourogi," Tousen announced. It was the last thing Toushirou heard. The next moment the world disappeared to be replaced with darkness and silence.

Hitsugaya's first reaction was panic. He couldn't see anything, he couldn't hear anything, he couldn't smell anything, he couldn't sense his opponent's reiatsu. _'He can slice me in half and I won't know until after it happened,' _he thought. Then he realized that his situation was far from hopeless.

"Ban Kai," he cried. "Daiguren Hyourinmaru!" He couldn't hear his own words, but he could feel the power and the ice forming around him. The familiar weight of the ice wings settled on his back. He wrapped them around himself for better protection. It was just in time. He felt a sword biting into his right wing, but unable to cut all the way through. He swung his tail at the attacker, but he dodged and disappeared in the nothingness.

Hitsugaya smirked. So his Shield of Ice Wings could withstand even Tousen's Bankai attack. That was good to know. It gave him time to come up with a strategy. He mentally went over everything he knew about Tousen's abilities.

In Shikai, he could attack with sound or a rain of spikes. Bankai took away his opponent's senses. Was it all it did or did he have something else up his sleeve? And what could he do about it? If he attacked blindly, he'd exhaust himself before he could hit Tousen. If he waited for the blind captain to attack, his defense might get shattered. No, he had to go on the offense here. He needed some wide-area attack, which would let him know where Tousen was.

"Tensou Juurin," he whispered. The arena filled with mist. The mist was under his control and he could feel it moving. So some of his senses weren't blocked by Suzumushi's Bankai. He concentrated harder, searching for a disturbance in the mist's flow. There! Something was blocking the current and it was moving towards him rapidly. He swung his tail, but Tousen noticed the movement and dodged at the last moment.

Hitsugaya swore under his breath. It looked like his tail was too slow. He'd have to leave the protection of the shield to attack. But he had only a general idea of Tousen's location, so he might not be able to block his counterattack. So what was he to do? He sent the mist further. It hit a barrier. So they were surrounded by a wall. It would be a safe bet that the effect of Tousen's Bankai held only inside. Maybe he could break through and he'd be able to see again. Or maybe he could use it to his advantage. Tousen wouldn't want to leave the area.

A plan forming in his mind, he waited for Tousen's next attack. He didn't have to wait long. The blind captain wasted no time in attacking him again. And like the last time, he was coming in from the back. That wouldn't do. He needed Tousen to attack from the front for his plan to work. Hitsugaya tried to hit him with his tail, but Tousen evaded. Then Toushirou shunpoed right next to the barrier and stood beside it, facing the centre of the dome, waiting for his opponent's next move. And hidden behind the shield of his wings, he was silently mouthing words.

Tousen predictably attacked again. And because he couldn't or didn't want to leave the dome of his Bankai or move the whole structure, he charged from the front. Hitsugaya smirked. Just as planned. He waited until the captain was about to swing his blade, and then spread his wings wide. His right hand swung Hyourinmaru, sending a powerful ice dragon right into Tousen's face. His left hand fired a Kidou. The twin blue flames of Hadou #73: Souren Soukatsui shot forward on both sides of the ice dragon, only milliseconds after it. As Tousen tried to narrowly dodge the dragon, he found himself straight in the path of the Kidou. And a high-level Hadou fired by a captain-level shinigami with full incantation had devastating results. But Tousen was a captain-level shinigami too and he wasn't so easily defeated. He dodged again, but not before the spell signed him.

Hitsugaya didn't see what damage did his spell cause, but he knew that Tousen was still on his feet. And the blind captain wouldn't fall for the same ploy twice. It was time to change the strategy. He turned towards the wall and fired his ice dragon at it. The wall rippled and tiny tears appeared in it and for a moment Hitsugaya could see, hear and smell again. But then the wall repaired itself and the world disappeared once more. Hitsugaya frowned. It looked like a more powerful attack was necessary. He didn't want to resort to this, because even if he couldn't see or hear, he could feel his ice flowers shattering, but he had no choice. He leapt forward, swinging his sword at the wall hard.

"Ryuusenka!" he called. Ice spread from the point of the hit, tearing through the wall. Light flooded in, almost blinding him. Tousen attacked from behind, but couldn't break through his wings and had to dodge the tail. Hitsugaya swung his sword to shatter the ice of the Ryuusenka and rushed through the opening before it could close.

Once outside, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was free and the world looked beautiful. Even if everything he could see was the Kidou barrier.

He turned back, facing the dome. He had no time to dawdle, his opponent was still at large. And half of his petals were already gone.

The dome, which looked like a weird big tent from the outside, suddenly collapsed and disappeared, as Tousen dismissed his Bankai. Hitsugaya could see his opponent again. Most of his white haori was gone or charred and smoking and there was definitely blood soaking through his black shihakushou. But his face was furious and determined, intent on crushing the one who had defeated his Bankai.

Hitsugaya didn't wait for his move and attacked first. He flash-stepped close and swung Hyourinmaru in a horizontal line.

"Guncho Tsurara!" A wide array of sharp icicles appeared, flying towards Tousen, their needle-sharp tips threatening to impale the blind captain. This attack wasn't as powerful as the ice dragon, but it was much harder to avoid. Tousen didn't even try.

"Cry, Suzumushi!" he called. Hitsugaya closed his wings around himself to block the effect of the sound. His ears were still ringing from the earlier attack.

The tips of the icicles were shattered and blunted, but the cones of ice moved on. Bankai attacks were much more durable than shikai ones. Tousen had just enough time to look surprised. He tried to shunpo away, but he was slower than he used to be and didn't make it. The ice hit him, knocking him to the ground.

Hitsugaya didn't waste a moment and attacked again. An ice dragon flew at the captain from point blank and lying down, Tousen couldn't even think of evading. He fired Suzumushi's signature attack, but that only softened the blow a bit. The ice pinned him to the ground, knocking his breath out of him. Hitsugaya quickly followed with a blow that knocked his zanpakutou from his grasp.

"Enough!" the referee shouted. "The match is over. Winner: Hitsugaya Toushirou!"

Hitsugaya smiled. He did it. He won! He landed and allowed his Bankai to disappear. The wings shattered and dissipated. Then with a casual swing of his blade he shattered the ice holding down Tousen. The dark-skinned captain tried to get to his feet, but collapsed back down. The last attack reopened his old wound and made it even more severe.

The Kidou barrier was taken down and Unohana shunpoed to the arena, attending to the wounded captain. The other captains followed shortly behind her.

"Great work, Shiro-chan!" Ukitake smiled and pressed a huge bag of candy into his arms. Hitsugaya felt so overwhelmed by everything he didn't even protest. He just nodded. He noticed the other captains gathering around to congratulate him. They were interrupted by Yamamoto tapping his cane on the ground. It didn't echo the same way it did in the captains' meeting room, yet the quiet sound was enough to make everybody fall silent.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves," the soutaichou chastised them. "The results of the Exam weren't officially announced yet."

Kyouraku rolled his eyes in the shadow of his hat and muttered something about old men and their boring formalities. Other captains looked serious and stood at attention. Hitsugaya felt a twinge of fear. He had thought he had passed. Was the general now going to tell him that he didn't? That would be a real letdown. Then Yamamoto began speaking.

"I, Yamamoto-Genryuusai Shigekuni, the soutaichou of Gotei 13, have witnessed the Captain's Qualification Exam and..." (Blah, blah, blah. Hitsugaya had trouble keeping his eyes open, but he didn't dare to tune it out.) "...and so I declare that Hitsugaya Toushirou had successfully passed the Captain's Qualification Exam and is from hereby on recognized as the captain of the Tenth Division." Hitsugaya nearly fainted with relief. Cheers echoed around the arena.

"Congratulations!" "Congratulations!" Hitsugaya didn't really register who said it. Somebody patted him on the shoulder and he nearly fell. Then something was pressed into his arms. When he looked down, he recognized it as a bag of candy. Another one. Ukitake was reliable.

"We have to have a drink!" That was Kyouraku. He was reliable too.

"You aren't going to give alcohol to a child," Unohana said from where she was treating Tousen.

"What child? He's a captain," Shunsui said.

"You aren't going to give him alcohol," Unohana repeated, not changing her voice and not looking up from her patient. Yet shivers ran down the pink-clad captain's back.

"But it's tradition," he insisted. "I had a drink with every new captain since the founding of Gotei 13."

"You aren't going to give a drink to a child," Unohana stated. This time even Kyouraku wasn't brave enough to argue.

"But we still have to celebrate," he stated, sounding like a petulant child. Unohana didn't reply.

Soon, Hitsugaya found himself ushered from the arena. It took him a moment to realize that it was Kyouraku dragging him and Ukitake was tagging along. Unohana was still tending to Tousen, Komamura stayed with his wounded friend and Yamamoto had already gone his own way. Then Kyouraku slipped into shunpo and he lost the sight of the Exam arena. Soon they found themselves standing in front of a bar. That filled Toushirou with dread.

"You know what Unohana-taichou said," he said.

"Sharing a drink is a tradition," Kyouraku insisted. "Besides, do you see Unohana anywhere?"

"She'll find out," Hitsugaya pointed out.

"Let him just have tea," Ukitake suggested.

"Tea? Where's the fun in that?" Kyouraku pouted, but Ukitake's scowl made him back off.

Once inside, they settled around a table and waited for the waitress to bring their drinks. Kyouraku tried to order sake for Hitsugaya, but Ukitake stopped him and ordered tea instead.

"You're a spoilsport, you know?" Shunsui pouted. "We have so much to celebrate and you don't even let the honoree get properly drunk."

"I don't drink," Hitsugaya said, but was ignored. Considering they were celebrating his success, it was a bit disheartening. It made him feel like Kyouraku was using him as an excuse to get drunk, not that he ever needed excuses.

"You won't make children drink and that's final," Ukitake stated.

"What child? He's a captain now," Kyouraku repeated his earlier argument.

Before anything else could be said, the waitress appeared with their order.

"Let's have a toast," Kyouraku proposed. "For the thirteen being complete again. May we not have to look at empty spots in our ranks again." He sounded uncharacteristically wistful saying that.

"Yes," Ukitake agreed, his tone serious as well. "It's been too long since they were complete." Hitsugaya didn't know what to say so he just raised his cup. They all took a sip of their drinks.

"So what's the first thing you are going to do once you're officially a captain?" Kyouraku asked once they laid their cups down again.

Hitsugaya was so shaken up from everything that he answered sincerely without thinking: "I'm going to fire Yokoyama-fukutaichou."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" the pink-clad captain questioned.

"No," Hitsugaya replied. "He's a no-good moron."

"He's a lieutenant. No no-good moron can make a lieutenant," Ukitake pointed out.

"Yokoyama did," Toushirou insisted. "Just look what he did to my division. It's going to take me a century to straighten out!"

"That's unfair," Kyouraku disagreed. "Tenth was falling apart long before he took command. He just didn't know how to help it."

"Because he's a moron," Hitsugaya stated.

"He's just a bad leader," the Eighth Division captain defended him. "But he can follow orders just fine."

"Maybe," the newly promoted captain shrugged, "but I doubt he'd follow my orders."

"I think he will," Ukitake said. Hitsugaya wondered whether he actually meant it or whether he was just trying to comfort him.

"I think he won't," the boy shook his head. "He always treated me like I'm some kid playing at being a shinigami."

"He'll change his mind when he sees you in your new haori," Ukitake smiled. Now that was definitely comforting.

"He'll think I'm a kid playing at being a captain," Hitsugaya scoffed. "He's dumb that way. He ignores everything that doesn't fit into his worldview and always picks the wrong thing to worry about."

"Well, I don't really know him much, but it sounds like you really don't like him," Kyouraku remarked.

"No, I don't," Toushirou confirmed.

"You're entitled to choose your lieutenant," the pink-clad man shrugged. "But who would you pick?"

"Uh..." Hitsugaya still had no idea. He had made discreet inquiries in the other divisions, but he couldn't find an available lieutenant-class shinigami he would want to work with and who would want to work with him. He even heard a rumor that there had been a suitable candidate, but he rather let a Hollow bite off his arm than risk becoming the next lieutenant of the Tenth. Hitsugaya considered the rumor stupid. The man lost his arm because he had been sloppy in battle. But the fact that the rumor spread and so many people believed it showed how much nobody wanted to have anything to do with the Tenth. But that would change once the Tenth had a real captain, sure? At least somebody would take the position. Anybody would be better than Yokoyama. Even nobody would be better than Yokoyama. Hitsugaya spoke the last thought aloud.

"That's not true," Kyouraku replied. "Tenth Division is used to their lieutenant. If you demote him, it will worsen their morale."

"I don't think it can get any worse," Hitsugaya muttered.

"It can always get worse," Kyouraku lectured him. "Believe me, it can always be worse." He sounded like he was speaking from personal experience. "Well, anyway, I think you should keep Yokoyama-fukutaichou, at least for a while. It will give your men a sense of continuity."

"You think so?" Toushirou asked dubiously.

"I think so," Shunsui nodded. "Don't sack him at least until you have a really suitable replacement."

"If you say so." Hitsugaya wasn't sure it was a good idea, but he decided to take the older captain's word for it. Despite Kyouraku's flamboyant image, he was wise when he wanted to be. He knew what he was talking about. Probably. And if not, Hitsugaya could always demote Yokoyama later.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Being promoted to captain was much different from all his previous promotions. Before, only a few forms were filled, a couple documents signed and he could begin acting with his new rank. Even when he became a lieutenant, it wasn't such a big deal. Becoming a captain wasn't so easy. Hitsugaya had expected that it would be a complex process, but he had underestimated it completely.

First there was a mountain of forms to be filled and signed. Then a new official stamp had to be crafted for him. Then some more forms had to be signed because somebody forgot to give them to Hitsugaya at the beginning. Then he had to officially quit his job as Seventh Division Lieutenant, which meant signing more forms. Then he had to pack his things and prepare to move to his new quarters. He managed it fast, having a lot of experience in the department.

Next on the agenda was getting his new haori. Captains usually took their predecessor's haori when first taking the office, but the previous Tenth Division Captain had been killed in the line of duty and his haori ruined in the process, so Hitsugaya had to have a new one made and was spared walking around in a piece of clothing that would have looked like a tent on him. He was eternally grateful for it. He didn't need to look any more ridiculous than he already did. Though as the pair of seamstresses from the Fourth Division took his measurements and cooed about his cuteness, (discreetly after his first icy glare,) he thought that maybe having a haori that didn't fit him perfectly wouldn't be so bad. Then they were finally done measuring him and told him to come in the evening for the final fitting. That consisted of some more covert cooing, but finally the haori was made and it actually fit him.

The day had been so hectic that once it was over he just collapsed to his bed and fell asleep as soon as he hit the mattress.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya felt anxious when he was supposed to attend his first captains' meeting. It was going to be his first official action as the captain of the Tenth Division and he was determined to make a good impression. He felt he was going to need it.

He checked his reflection in a mirror and smoothened a minuscule wrinkle on his new haori. It was going to take some time to get used to wearing this. He'd like to think that the white was making him look more mature, but he didn't really believe it. Mostly it felt just odd. Like he wasn't supposed to wear it. He had earned it, he had passed the Captain's Exam, but he still felt like he didn't deserve it. He felt like he didn't belong with the other captains. Compared with their respectable images, he felt so young and inadequate. He hoped that it would get better eventually and he was determined to do everything in his power to earn their respect, but he didn't dare to get his hopes too high.

Once he'd walk through the door, he'd officially take command of the Tenth Division. The division which had been slowly falling apart for nearly two decades and which was currently led by a lieutenant who considered him a little brat incapable of doing anything on his own. Toushirou sighed deeply. How was he supposed to put the division back in order? He had no idea where to begin. He had been supposed to learn about leading a division in the Seventh, but the Seventh was a well-run division and had a well-respected captain who backed him. And even with all that he had trouble establishing his authority. Even after proving his abilities, some of his underlings still considered him immature. The worst thing was that he couldn't really argue with them. There had been many occasions when he had acted like a brat instead of a respectable lieutenant, despite his effort to the contrary. And now he was going to be completely on his own. Yes, he wasn't looking forward to it. He only prayed that nothing too bad would happen until he got the hang of his new job.

Then the door to the room opened and a member of the First Division informed him that it was time to go. Hitsugaya took a breath to compose himself and followed the man to the assembly hall.

The hall looked exactly how he remembered it from his lieutenant's inauguration. Yamamoto-soutaichou was sitting in a high chair on the opposite end of the room and two rows of captains stood on each side, their lieutenants filed behind them. Struggling to look composed, Hitsugaya walked to the empty spot on his left and took his place between Kyouraku and Kurotsuchi. Then Yamamoto began his speech. Hitsugaya felt like just he did when he had first heard him speak during his Academy graduation ceremony: bored and wishing the old man would finally shut up. It made him wonder whether he did indeed change since those days. It was only the third time he had heard the soutaichou speaking and he would swear that his speeches were getting longer, more boring and repetitive and completely insufferable. He should really learn how to sleep through them discreetly soon, or his sanity might not withstand the strain.

And then it was suddenly over and it was the time for the captains to welcome him personally into their fold. Hitsugaya braced himself for another round of awkward conversations.

Yamamoto was thankfully done quickly. He had said everything he had wanted to during his speech. Several times over. Hitsugaya thanked him for his kind words and the ancient general departed.

Sasakibe wasn't as brief as his superior, but he didn't have much to say either. He just said something about wishing him well and hoping he would make the Gotei 13 and the captain's rank proud. It sounded a bit insincere to Toushirou. He wondered whether the old lieutenant was hiding contempt for everybody young behind his words. But it was probably just his imagination. Then the First Division lieutenant left and it was time for the Second Division to offer their congratulations.

"Good job on making captain," Soifon said, "but if you are still as rash as you used to be, you aren't going to last." That was all she was going to say to him. Well, it wasn't like the master assassin ever gave words of encouragement to anyone.

"Good job, Hitsugaya-taichou," Oomaeda said without bothering to swallow his fried rice crackers first. Once again Hitsugaya found his hair full of soggy crumbles. They fell on his brand new haori too and they were clearly visible. Hitsugaya brushed them off with a disgusted grimace. He hoped it wouldn't leave stains. It wouldn't be a good start to his captaincy. Then he looked at Soifon.

"May I kick him?" he asked hopefully. Oomaeda paled.

"No," she answered resolutely. Oomaeda looked relieved. "Only I am allowed to do so," she added and kicked Oomaeda out of the door.

"Thank you," Hitsugaya said sincerely.

"You're welcome," Soifon answered coolly before walking to where Oomaeda was picking himself from the ground and whining, presumably intending to kick him again.

"Ya got sumthin' in yer hair, Hitsu-taichou," Ichimaru grinned. He seemed to be very amused at Hitsugaya's expense.

"I noticed," Hitsugaya replied.

"So now ya made captain ya don't 'ave ta run after Komamura anymore," the silver-haired captain spoke, "But that guy behind ya's gonna 'ave to crawl like a snail." Hitsugaya wished he knew how Yokoyama reacted to this, but he didn't turn around. Letting Gin out of his sight was generally considered inadvisable.

"As my lieutenant, he has do what I say," he said as much for Yokoyama as for Ichimaru.

"But ya gotta speak loud or he might not hear ya over that distance," the permanently smiling captain said.

"Some jokes get old quickly, Ichimaru-taichou," Hitsugaya scowled.

"Nah, little taichou," Ichimaru shook his head, "some jokes ne'er get old." Toushirou took it as a promise of making lots more 'short' jokes at his expense. But it looked like the silver-haired man was done torturing him for today and Lieutenant Iba Chikane stepped forward. She looked a bit embarrassed for her captain's behavior, but she didn't apologize for him publicly.

"Congratulations to your promotion, Hitsugaya-taichou," she said. "You have really come far."

"Thank you," Hitsugaya replied.

Chikane didn't have much else to say so she followed her captain out of the room, presumably to keep an eye on him. The Fourth Division Captain stepped forth.

"Congratulations to your promotion, Hitsugaya-taichou," Unohana said pleasantly. "May you be a good leader to your division." Her voice didn't change, yet Hitsugaya somehow heard the _or else_ in her statement.

"I'll do my best," he promised. He didn't dare to promise more, in case he wasn't able to fulfill it.

"I am sure you will do fine," she said, telling him he'd better not disappoint her without changing the tone of her voice.

"I will," he blurted without thinking. Unohana smiled pleasantly and gave the floor to Kotetsu-fukutaichou. Once again the grey-haired girl bowed low as if apologizing for her height. She looked especially embarrassed for it today. It made Hitsugaya want to say something to cheer her up, but she spoke first.

"Congratulations to your promotion, Hitsugaya-taichou. May everything go smoothly for you." Then she bowed even lower and was off. The Fifth Division command took her place.

"Congratulations to your promotion, Hitsugaya-taichou," Aizen said. "It's a pleasure to see somebody young rising in the ranks. It is also a pleasure to see all of the divisions having a captain finally. It hasn't happened since before I became a captain."

"Thank you," Hitsugaya replied.

"Congratulations, Shiro-chan!" Momo beamed.

"Hinamori-fukutaichou," Hitsugaya sighed. "I outrank you, so please address me correctly finally." He could have spared the breath. Hinamori was on the roll and ignored him completely.

"I can't believe you really did it, Shiro-chan. Or should I call you Hitsugaya-taichou now? It still feels like a dream. I feel like I'm going to wake up and we'll be back in Rukongai, living with Granny, I'll be playing with Tecchin and A-chan and you'd be stuffing yourself with watermelons and ammanattou..."

"I think that was enough, Hinamori-kun," Aizen interrupted her. Hitsugaya felt grateful to him. It was the second time ever. He had been contemplating interrupting Momo's rant before, some of the assembled captains and lieutenants looked like they were trying hard not to laugh, but he didn't want to be strict with the girl in public. It might make her cry which made him look like a bastard for making her cry. "There are others wanting to congratulate Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Oh," Momo blushed. "I completely forgot. Good luck, Shiro-chan."

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou," he said to her retreating back. But then Captain Kuchiki stood in front of him and Hitsugaya smoothened his annoyed expression into one of impassiveness, matching the noble.

"Good work, Hitsugaya-taichou," Byakuya said and turned away to leave. In his opinion, that was all he had to say to a peasant.

"Congratulations on making captain," Shirogane-fukutaichou said. "Now that you have to command a division of your own, you really need to look respectable. And to achieve this..."

"I don't want to buy glasses," Hitsugaya interrupted before the Sixth Division Lieutenant could start praising his merchandise. At least he didn't seem to have his sample box with him. But he still could have something stuffed up his sleeves.

"Are you sure?" the salesman playing at being a shinigami tried again. "It would make you look mature."

"Yes, I am sure."

"Well, you can come to the Gin Tonbo if you change your mind," Shirogane made one last desperate attempt before leaving. Then it was Komamura's turn.

"Congratulations to your promotion, Hitsugaya-taichou," the big man's voice echoed from his helmet. "I wish you luck in your captaincy."

"Thank you, Komamura-taichou," Hitsugaya replied. There wasn't the need for many words between them. Everything important had been said yesterday while Hitsugaya had prepared to take his new position.

Because there was no new lieutenant of the Seventh yet, it was the turn of the Eighth Division.

"Good job, kid," Kyouraku smiled. "I'd invite you for a drink, but Nanao would kill me."

"Damn right I would," the lieutenant muttered. "And congratulations on making captain. I hope you'll be better than mine, though that really isn't saying much."

"That was mean, Nanao-chan," Kyouraku pouted. Nanao flashed her glasses at him. Then she ushered him out of the room before he could say something stupid and the Ninth Division representatives took their place.

"Congratulations to your promotion, Captain Hitsugaya," Tousen said. "But you must understand that with the highest rank come also the highest responsibilities. Now that you are a captain of the Gotei 13, it's your duty to uphold Justice. Because without Justice, the world would collapse into chaos. But if we walk the path of Justice..." Hitsugaya suppressed the urge to yawn. Tousen had been babbling for the last five minutes. It was almost worse than Yamamoto's endless speech. Lieutenant Hisagi shot him a commiserative smile. Toushirou contemplated whether interrupting the senior captain would be too rude. But when he noticed the next pair in line, namely Kenpachi and Yachiru, looking bored, he realized that he should quit Tousen's monologue quickly or there would be trouble.

"It was a very inspiring speech," he said when Tousen paused to take a breath. "I'll make sure to keep it in mind." The dark-skinned man was a bit taken aback that Hitsugaya dared to interrupt him when he wasn't finished yet.

"I am glad you understand it, because without Justice..." Tousen launched into another tirade. Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. The Ninth Division captain was blind so he shouldn't be able to tell Hitsugaya was rolling his eyes. Did Tousen never tire of preaching about Justice? Probably not. Toushirou suspected he'd speak until he'd get hoarse. He had no intention to listen to the blather for so long.

"You already said that," Hitsugaya interrupted the older captain, foregoing politeness. He had already reached his quota of boring speeches today.

"You shouldn't interrupt your elders," Tousen scowled. "It's impolite and a sign of impatience. And impatience is a sign of immaturity and immaturity..."

"It isn't me who is impatient," Hitsugaya interrupted. "Captain Zaraki is playing with his zanpakutou out of boredom." The sudden change of Tousen's expression was really funny. He schooled it quickly, but it was obvious that he didn't want to be faced with a bored Zaraki. He made the wise choice and concluded his congratulations quickly."

"Do your rank proud, Captain Hitsugaya," he said before leaving. The Lieutenant Hisagi made a step forward, casting a worried glance over his shoulder, where Kenpachi loomed looking scary.

"Congratulations to your promotion, Captain Hitsugaya," he said before hurriedly departing after his captain. Zaraki watched their display of cowardice with a disgusted expression. Yachiru laughed. Then they stepped forward to congratulate him.

"Heh," Kenpachi slapped his shoulder, "So you're a captain now. We should have the match soon."

"Come and play with Ken-chan, Snowie!" Yachiru added.

"Maybe someday," Hitsugaya replied noncommittally and hoped that Kenpachi wouldn't come calling anytime soon. Zaraki just grinned and slapped him on the shoulder again, nearly sending the young captain to his knees. Then he left, presumably looking for somebody to fight. Now it was the turn of the Twelfth Division. Kurotsuchi-taichou approached him and Hitsugaya almost cringed. He had already forgotten just how creepy the mad scientist looked.

"It's really unusual for one so young to wield so much power. I would like to research this." Hitsugaya was pressed hard not to take a step back from the Twelfth Division Captain. He had no doubt that Kurotsuchi meant every word. Last time, Ukitake intervened, but now he was a captain, he should stand up for himself.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Kurotsuchi-taichou," Hitsugaya said.

"It's for science," the mad scientist insisted.

"I have to refuse," the youngest captain stood his ground.

"Don't you have appreciation for science, ignorant boy?" Mayuri scowled. Now that was a tricky question. He couldn't afford to say that he didn't and if he said that he did, Kurotsuchi would press the issue or outright take it as an agreement to become his test subject. So how to turn him down diplomatically?

"I think that's enough," a new voice interjected before Hitsugaya could come up with a good reply. Ukitake to the rescue. Toushirou would have been grateful to him if it didn't make him look like he couldn't handle the situation himself. Mayuri growled before turning around and leaving.

"Congratulations, Captain Hitsugaya," the Twelfth Division Lieutenant said. Hitsugaya was a bit taken aback as how different she seemed from her creator. She was actually nice.

"Nemu!" Mayuri called from the door. "Don't dawdle, stupid girl!" Nemu bowed to Hitsugaya and rushed to join her 'father.' Now it was the Thirteenth Division's turn.

"I already said it, but congratulations again, Hitsugaya-taichou," Ukitake said. The use of his full title was a bit unexpected. The bag of candy pushed into his arm was not.

"Thank you, Ukitake-taichou," Hitsugaya said, trying to ignore everybody's amused expression. Good thing there weren't many people in the room now. Bad thing that Yokoyama was one of them.

"I wish you success in your captaincy," the sickly captain said. "And if you have trouble, don't be shy to ask me for help."

"What taichou said," Shiba-fukutaichou seconded it. "Congratulations and much luck in the future. And stop by whenever you feel like it. And finally: don't look so serious!" Then he ruffled Hitsugaya's hair and the congratulations were over.

His arms full of Ukitake's candy, Hitsugaya was trying to figure out what to do. Why did the older captain have to shower him with sweets now? Didn't he realize what it did to his image? How was he supposed to command any authority when everybody was either trying not to laugh or smiling patronizingly, all of them amused by his predicament?

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He saw Yokoyama-fukutaichou standing behind him. He belonged into the 'smiling patronizingly' category. It wasn't a look Hitsugaya wanted to see on his subordinates.

"Let's get to the barrack now," Yokoyama said. "You'll meet the division and then you can enjoy your candy." This didn't sound like something Hitsugaya wanted to hear from his subordinates.

"There's no time for enjoying anything, Yokoyama-fukutaichou," the young captain replied. "I'm in command of the Tenth now, so I will have a lot of work to do."

"You don't have to strain yourself," Tarou said. "I can take care of it."

_The reason I was promoted so fast is that you can't, _was what Hitsugaya wanted to say, but bit his tongue. Saying something like that would make their already bad relationship even worse, especially if he said it in public. And he wanted to give Yokoyama a chance to be a good follower when he had already failed as a leader.

"It's my job to do it now," he said. "And the sooner I start the better. Let's go now." The lieutenant nodded, but his face clearly showed that he considered Toushirou a bratty kid in way over his head and was already planning the damage control, because in his mind the new captain was bound to mess up. Hitsugaya wished he could prove him wrong soon.


	19. Tenth Division

**Author's**** note:** Chapter 19 finally here! And it didn't take as long as usual. So everybody who wondered how would Hitsugaya's beginnings as a captain go, here you are. For everybody who's still interested in my artwork, there is a picture of Hitsugaya and Yokoyama on my DeviantArt profile, link on my author's profile page. Now on to the story!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**On the Frozen Plain – Tenth Division**

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Even before he walked through the door leading to the main courtyard, he could see the rows of Tenth Division shinigami lined up on the stone ground, standing at attention. (At least the ones in the front row. He could see more than a few slackers in the back rows.) They were all waiting to see their new captain. He could see the hope in their eyes that their division would finally become a real division instead of the farce it was now and a dose of skepticism in the eyes of those who didn't believe that their new and inexperienced captain would manage. Hitsugaya couldn't begrudge them, because he didn't feel confident he'd manage either. But all of them were probably expecting an adult. What would they say when they saw him? One way to find out. He took a steadying breath, which earned him a patronizing smile from Yokoyama, and walked through the door.

The chatter he could hear from the gathering immediately halted. Hitsugaya could feel the weight of everybody's gaze on him, judging him and wondering whether they were seeing right. It was uncomfortable, but he did his best to hide it. Too bad he couldn't tell whether he succeeded. He knew that any moment the initial shock would pass and the whispers would begin. He didn't want that. He spoke first.

"Greetings, shinigami of the Tenth Division. My name is Hitsugaya Toushirou and I am your new captain." He didn't wait for the inevitable exclamation of disbelief and continued. "I know it's been a long time since you had a captain and most of you aren't used to having one, but we can learn to work together and restore the honor of the Tenth Division. Are there any questions?"

"Is this kid seriously our captain?" somebody in the back rows asked with distaste in his voice. Of course somebody had to ask this.

"Unfortunately yes," Yokoyama answered before Hitsugaya could. The young captain swallowed the sharp retort he had prepared for the doubter and turned to the lieutenant, fury in his eyes.

"Unfortunately?" he hissed. Yokoyama's eyes widened as he realized what he had said aloud.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said hurriedly and tried to ruffle Toushirou's hair. The boy batted his hand aside.

"Stop it," Hitsugaya said. "We both know you did. But like it or not, I am now your captain and you are going to act accordingly, understand?"

"Yes," the lieutenant answered, though it was doubtful whether he really did. Hitsugaya knew that this was the best he would get from him and turned back to the division members who had been watching the exchange with interest.

"Is there somebody who wants to question my rank?" he asked icily. Nobody said a word. A lot of them shivered in the suddenly cold air. Hitsugaya didn't even realize when did he raise his reiatsu, but he didn't suppress it again. Let them feel his power.

"Good," he said after a while. "Now this is settled, we can get to business."

After that followed the introduction of the division's seated officers. Hitsugaya tried his best to remember everybody, but somewhere around the Fourteenth Seats the names and faces began to blur. He only hoped that he'd be able to recall at least the ten highest seats.

Then the introduction was over and Hitsugaya dismissed his men. Some of them headed out to do their duties, others stayed to gossip. Hitsugaya didn't pay them any mind. He told Yokoyama to follow him and headed towards the administrative office. It was time to learn more about the workings of the Tenth.

Once inside, Yokoyama began giving him the grand tour, pointing at things Hitsugaya could easily identify without his help. ("This is your desk.") The young captain couldn't stand his hovering over his shoulder anymore and asked him whether he had anything else to do. The fukutaichou replied that it was his duty to help his captain, but Hitsugaya eventually managed to convince him to go and oversee a training exercise.

Now that he was finally alone, Hitsugaya could get to business undisturbed. There were so many reports to be read, patrol schedules to be learned and subordinates' names and abilities to be memorized. He sat behind his desk and got started.

Whoever had been the Tenth Division Captain before him, had to be a giant of a man. Well, that was probably exaggerating a bit, but he had been considerably taller than Hitsugaya. When Hitsugaya sat in his chair, his feet were dangling off the ground and he could barely see over the desk. _I'll have to get a new one, _he thought. Then he imagined getting a child-sized desk for the captain's office. What would his new subordinates think about it? What would they think about a captain who couldn't see over his desk? He couldn't tell what was worse. In the end he postponed the problem for later. He had to tackle the paperwork accumulated on his table. He used the method he had learned in the Academy and knelt on the chair. It was only a temporary solution, but it would have to do for now.

Thankfully there wasn't too much documents to go through. For all of his shortcomings Yokoyama was very diligent when it came to the bureaucracy accompanying leading a division. There was no backlog to work on, only reports concerning the occurrences of the previous day and earlier today. Hitsugaya picked one randomly and began reading it. It spoke about a Hollow-hunting expedition. Mission successful. Good. Then he saw the next line and his almost-good mood turned sour rapidly. Two dead. So he was a captain for less than an hour and he had already lost two subordinates, men he didn't even know. It was a bad start to his captaincy. He knew that it wasn't his fault, that the mission had been ordered and completed before he had first set his foot here in his new haori, but the fact that the first thing he came upon in his office was a casualty report felt ominous. He could only hope that there weren't more hiding in the neat stack of papers in front of him.

This meant that the first thing he had to write as a captain was a letter to the deceased's families informing them of the event and offering his condolences, however empty they sounded. He really didn't want to do it, he had never been good with words, but he had to. He picked up a clean sheath of paper and stared at it, trying to come up with a way to break it to the families gently or at least in a way that wouldn't make them curse him. He resolved to do anything to prevent losing more subordinates. He really didn't want to do this again.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Budget request for the next year. Hitsugaya stared at the paper in his hand blankly. It was probably the most important document in the whole division and now he was supposed to fill it and if he made any mistakes the whole division would suffer for his blunder and they would know who to blame. The problem was he had barely any idea how to do it. Komamura never let him do a budget request on his own, only explaining to him how was it done. And looking at the form in his hand now, not all of his advice applied. He was on his own on this one.

He took a deep breath. He mustn't panic. He had to calm down. He wished a Hollow would attack and relieve him of this duty, but it would be just a delay. He'd have to fill it eventually. He did his best to quench the rising panic. He could do it. If he thought about the questions and empty spaces hard enough, he would eventually figure out what they meant. How hard could it be? Yokoyama could do it before him. That gave him an idea. He could just take a look at the budget requests and reports from the previous year and figure out how to fill this one by their example. Yes, that sounded like a good plan.

He hopped down from his chair and walked to the huge bookcase where the most important documents in the division were kept. The shelves were stacked along a whole wall, from the bottom to the top they were filled with folders. _Budget. Where was it? _His eyes scanned the rows of folders. _Seated officers. New recruits. List of casualties. Patrol schedule. Come on, _Toushirou thought. _Where is the budget book?_ Then he finally found it. He sighed. Of course it had to be on the topmost shelf. Whatever he needed tended to be somewhere high. And of course there was no ladder. Typical.

He dragged his chair to the bookcase. Maybe it was a good thing that it was so big. He climbed on it and reached up. Crap. He still couldn't reach the book. He jumped on the back of the chair. Now he was high enough. He grabbed the book. The chair under him swayed. It wasn't designed to be stood on in such a way. Instinctively Hitsugaya grabbed on the shelf. There was a sudden sense of vertigo. _That thing isn't fastened to the wall? _Was his last thought before the whole bookcase tumbled down on him.

He crashed to the ground, the bookcase landing on him, the books spilling all around them, some of them opening and their pages crumpling. Toushirou watched the mess with wide eyes, thinking that maybe he should have swallowed his pride and asked for a ladder. This was going to take a week to straighten out.

"_**At least you can put the important books where you can reach him," **_Hyourinmaru suggested helpfully. Hitsugaya got the impression that the dragon was struggling not to laugh.

"_That's really helpful," _he retorted sarcastically. _"I would have done that anyway."_

"_**Sure," **_the zanpakutou spirit replied skeptically. _**"But look at the bright side. At least you have the book you needed." **_Sure enough, the budget folder was still clutched in Hitsugaya's hand. It was cold comfort.

Hitsugaya sighed and pushed the bookcase off him and climbed out, careful not to cause even more damage to the documents. The door to the office flew open and Lieutenant Yokoyama appeared, alerted by the crash.

"Captain! What happened here?" he exclaimed upon seeing the devastation. Hitsugaya blushed slightly. What was he supposed to say to preserve what little authority he had?

"The bookcase fell," he replied trying not to sound like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"On its own?" Yokoyama looked at his suspiciously. Toushirou felt like a little kid being scolded. Dammit, that was wrong. He was the captain here. He was supposed to act with authority and command respect, though it was quite hard to do after being caught doing something so childish like climbing on the furniture.

"Does it matter?" Hitsugaya replied. "Call for someone to clean the mess." He walked to his desk and laid the budget book on it. Yokoyama noticed it.

"You could let me do it," he said. He sounded like a parent talking to a child who had tried to do something way out of his league.

"I am fully capable of doing it myself," Hitsugaya snapped, despite not being convinced that it was the truth. Yokoyama's tone just rubbed him in a wrong way and made him act like a brat.

"I'll be happy to help," the lieutenant offered. Now it was obvious that he didn't believe Hitsugaya capable of doing it himself. That made the young captain irritated and determined that he was able to do it on his own just fine.

"That isn't necessary," he replied trying not to sound like a brat.

"I insist."

"I said it isn't necessary," Hitsugaya repeated with a hint of anger in his voice.

"It would be better if I helped," Yokoyama said walking towards the desk.

"I said I can do it on my own. Thank you for your offer, but your assistance really isn't necessary."

"Helping you is my duty and my pleasure." Hitsugaya suppressed a sigh. It looked like there was no other way to get rid of the lieutenant than to order him to leave. Hitsugaya didn't want to do that. He still hoped he could achieve a working relationship with his Second-in-command. Though it was a slim hope and dwindling fast. He couldn't achieve it if he acted like a spoiled brat. So maybe he should accept his help, the man did know more about budget requests than he did. But doing so might also make him look incompetent which was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. So what should he do?

Before he could decide, the office doors flew open again. A shinigami stood there, panting. Hitsugaya knew that he had met him before and that the man was probably one of the seated officers in the Tenth and that he was supposed to know his name and rank, but try as he might, he couldn't recall who this man was.

"What's the matter, Twelfth Seat Kokawa?" Yokoyama asked. Hitsugaya was grateful to his lieutenant for saving him the embarrassment.

"Emergency, sir." It didn't escape Hitsugaya that Kokawa was looking at Yokoyama while making the report. So that man didn't consider him a capable captain too. It stung and Hitsugaya could punish the man for the breach of protocol, but hearing out what the emergency was took priority.

"What is it?" Hitsugaya asked. Kokawa's eyes flickered to the young captain like if he didn't even register his presence before he spoke.

"Kichida's Seventh Patrol Unit reported encountering Menos," Kokawa answered.

"Where was it?" Hitsugaya asked reaching for his zanpakutou. He had wished for a Hollow attack before, so now he had it. And a Menos warranted him to take care of it personally.

"East Rukongai, 19th district." That was uncomfortably close to Seireitei.

"I'll take care of it," Yokoyama said.

"We'll take care of it," Hitsugaya corrected him, strapping Hyourinmaru on his back.

"You don't need to bother because of a simple Menos. I'm more than enough to take care of it."

"I'm going and that's final," Hitsugaya stated before shunpoing out of the door. Yokoyama had no choice but to follow.

.*****************************************************************************************.

They were getting closer. He could already feel the Menos' tainted power in the air and one glance at Yokoyama revealed that his lieutenant noticed it too. It also became apparent that this was no simple Gillian. The reiatsu was much stronger than anything he had encountered before. It meant that the Menos must be an Adjucha. And Yokoyama wanted to face it alone. He'd stand no chance against something like this.

Hitsugaya stretched his senses, but couldn't feel anyone else in the area. Was the unit already dead? He knew it was the most probable explanation, but he hoped it was not so. It would be a bad start to his captaincy. Or an even worse one. There had been enough trouble already.

Yokoyama noticed his discomfort.

"Don't be afraid," he said, trying to sound confident and reassuring. "I can fight it." Hitsugaya scowled. Did the man just insinuate that he was too scared to perform his duties?

"I'm not afraid," he answered. "I merely noticed the absence of any other reiatsu in the vicinity."

"It was to be expected," the lieutenant remarked. "The squad couldn't possibly hold their own against a Menos for so long."

"I know. I hoped somebody escaped." The older man gave him a look reserved for naive children. It irked the young captain, even if it wasn't completely undeserved.

A roar sounded in the distance.

"It noticed us," Tarou observed. Hitsugaya reached for his sword. It took only a couple of Shunpo to reach their destination. The Adjucha was already facing them.

It was probably the ugliest Hollow Hitsugaya had ever seen. It was about as tall as a tree. Its color was sickly greenish with a purple tint, its overall shape resembling some giant insect, perhaps a gnat, with its six long thin legs, four semi-transparent wings and small body, but with strange tentacle-like appendages covering its body. Its mask looked like a grotesque nightmare of a fly. Under it the mangled remains of the patrol squad were lying. Hitsugaya noticed something. It was faint, but there was still reiatsu detectable coming off one of the bodies, nearly drowned out by the Adjucha's monstrous spiritual pressure.

"That one's still alive," he shouted.

"Get him out of there, captain!" Yokoyama shouted back. "I'll deal with this!" He whipped out his zanpakutou and charged at the Adjucha.

"Wait!" Hitsugaya shouted, but it was already too late. Yokoyama had shunpoed above the Hollow's head and tried to crack its mask in one hit, just like the textbooks advised. Unfortunately for him this particular Adjucha must have had some previous experience with such kinds of sneak attacks. The tentacles on its neck shot up, hitting the lieutenant head-on. He still swung his sword down, but he missed the mask completely and there wasn't enough force behind his attack anymore. The only damage it did was a shallow cut on the Adjucha's neck.

Yokoyama was completely surprised that his sneak attack failed. His mouth opened in a silent scream and he started falling. The Adjucha turned, preparing to slice him in two with the edge of its wing, which upon closer inspection seemed very sharp. He tried to get out of the way, but he couldn't. His whole body hurt and he had trouble moving. Just as he thought he was done for, he was caught by a small hand and jerked out of the way. The approaching wing was stopped by the blade of Hyourinmaru.

"Taichou," Tarou whispered. Hitsugaya quickly shunpoed them away from the monster and laid him on the grass. The Adjucha, seeing its prey had escaped, let out an angry sound. It resembled the chirping of a cicada, only much louder and much more grating. The insect-like wings vibrated and the beast took to the air. Yokoyama's eyes widened with fear. Airborne enemies were the worst. Shinigami were made to defend their fronts, not the tops of their heads. Not to mention that it was hard to harm an enemy that could simply fly out of their reach. He tried to move, but he found himself incapacitated. The tentacles must have been venomous or something. He cursed inwardly. He couldn't do anything and his captain, despite being a captain, was still a child. A grim situation in his opinion.

Hitsugaya turned towards the threat and fired three ice dragons in rapid succession. The Adjucha avoided the first two, but the third one hit one of its legs. The appendage froze and shattered. The Hollow made another terrifying sound, but it didn't seem hindered by the injury in any way. If anything, it got only more enraged. It flew higher above the two shinigami and began spitting something from its tentacles. Hitsugaya swung Hyourinmaru and created a dome of ice above them. The liquid substance splashed onto it and began boiling immediately. Hitsugaya added more power to his shield and the liquid froze over. The Adjucha expelled more.

Yokoyama saw all that through the haze of pain he was in. He realized that his captain was able to defend them for the time being, but he couldn't win the battle this way. He'd have to attack and for that he'd have to leave the protection of the shield and once he did that, he'd be hit by the poison/acid or whatever the Hollow was using. But it looked like the child taichou didn't realize that. He slipped from under the shield and the Adjucha immediately focused its attack on him.

"Wait!" the lieutenant tried to shout, but it came out only as a faint squeak. And the boy didn't listen to him anyway. Yokoyama closed his eyes. He didn't want to see this.

There was an explosion of reiatsu. It was heavy, pushing him to the ground. His breathing, already strained, became even harder. For a moment, he nearly panicked. Was there another Adjucha nearby? But then he realized it was shinigami reiatsu. But why did the air became much colder suddenly? Was it a side-effect of the poison? Was he dying?

He opened his eyes again. He could see Hitsugaya-taichou surrounded in a cocoon of ice, apparently unharmed. Then the cocoon moved and unfurled into a pair of ice wings and a tail. Yokoyama watched it completely baffled. He had never seen anything like this. He could only speculate this was Hitsugaya's Bankai. He couldn't help but feel a bit surprised to see it. He knew that as a captain Hitsugaya must have achieved one, but he found it still hard to believe that someone so young could have done so.

Hitsugaya flapped his wings and shot to the sky. The Hollow looked a bit surprised to see this, (Yokoyama certainly was), and shot another stream of its poison at him. Hitsugaya nimbly evaded and the few droplets he couldn't were blocked by one of the wings. Then he launched four dragons of ice at the Adjucha. The Hollow tried to dodge, but the Bankai version of the attack was faster than the shikai and it ended up losing one of its legs and both wings on its right hand side. It tried to stay in the air, creating a rather comical effect, but it couldn't defy gravity. Hitsugaya followed quickly with another attack, which the Adjucha had now no means of avoiding. Even more of its body was frozen and shattered, but it wasn't giving up. It shot another splash of its green venom at Hitsugaya, but a swift movement of the wings blocked it all.

The Adjucha landed on the ground in an instant and Hitsugaya was upon it just as fast. The long ice tail slammed into the Hollow's neck and created a landing platform for Hitsugaya. One slice of Hyourinmaru split the Adjucha's mask. It tried to hit him with its tentacles as a last ditch attack, but once again the wings fulfilled its purpose. The Hollow's appendages froze and fell off upon touching them. The creature let out one last agonizing screech before dissolving into spirit particles.

Hitsugaya dismissed his Bankai and sheathed his zanpakutou. One glance towards the last surviving member of the patrol squad showed him that he wasn't surviving anymore. Some of the Adjucha's goo had landed on him, burning through his skin. He had been badly wounded to begin with, but Hitsugaya couldn't help but wonder whether he might have survived if he had been able to protect him better.

He turned towards his fukutaichou. Yokoyama was lying on the ground, panting heavily and watching him wide-eyed. He had never seen an Adjucha defeated so quickly. He had never seen any Adjuchas, but that didn't really matter. He was forming a new opinion on his captain. He might be very young, but he was also powerful and skilled.

Hitsugaya knelt next to him. One look was enough to tell him it was bad. The poison had burned through the lieutenant's skin and was now eating at the muscle tissue. Yokoyama didn't bleed to death yet only because the poison cauterized the wounds. The young captain quickly froze the wound, hoping that it would stop the spreading of the poison and wouldn't give Yokoyama dangerous hypothermia and frostbite. Then he quickly summoned a Hell Butterfly and sent it with a message to captain Unohana. He could already tell that no-one but she would be able to help and even that only if he got the wounded man to her quickly. The problem was that if he just grabbed the lieutenant and carried him to Seireitei, he would most likely die on the way. Yokoyama needed healing kidou immediately if he should survive. Hitsugaya could perform it, but not while carrying the big and heavy man. So what could he do?

He touched the hilt of Hyourinmaru and briefly communed with the zanpakutou. He had no idea how the spirit would react to what he asked of him, but had to try anyway. To his immense relief, Hyourinmaru agreed. He unsheathed the sword and concentrated his reiatsu. Next to the weapon materialized the giant form of the ice dragon. Yokoyama just stared. Hitsugaya picked him up carefully, making sure he didn't make contact with the venom, and jumped on Hyourinmaru's back. The dragon took to the sky.

"Taichou," the lieutenant whispered.

"Don't speak," Hitsugaya commanded. "Your wounds are bad. I'm taking you to Unohana-taichou so don't make yourself worse before we'd get there." Yokoyama nodded. Hitsugaya meanwhile wracked his brain for every bit of knowledge he gained during his short time in the Fourth. What was he supposed to do when the patient was affected by an unknown poison? Prevent it from spreading? He already did all he could in that regard. In the end he decided for the basic healing Kidou, strengthening Yokoyama's reiatsu and directing it to heal his wounds. It worked slow even during the best conditions and now he had to battle the fatigue that always followed releasing his Bankai and keep Hyourinmaru's spirit materialized. He was determined to do everything not to lose another subordinate today. He had already lost too much of them. He had sworn to keep his men alive no matter what it took and the fact that he disliked this one couldn't change it. He didn't want Yokoyama dead.

The distance separating them from Seireitei seemed suddenly so great. It could have been on the other side of Soul Society. The meadows, forests and houses of Rukongai were flashing past them, but to Hitsugaya it felt like they weren't moving at all. He kept glancing forward, checking whether the white walls and golden roofs of Seireitei had finally appeared and all the time Yokoyama's breathing was becoming more and more shallow and strained. He pushed more reiryoku to the healing kidou, but it had little effect.

"Hang on," he pleaded. "We'll be at the Fourth soon." But he knew it was a lie and so did the wounded man. Seireitei was still nowhere in sight.

Finally it appeared as a thin line on the horizon. Hitsugaya exhaled in relief. Finally! But it still might be too late. Yokoyama's body felt cold, his eyes were closed and only the slight movement of his chest proved that he was still alive. But how long would it last? Hitsugaya could only pray that long enough. He was already doing all he could.

He neared the walls of Seireitei. He wanted to just fly over them, but realized there was a barrier at the last moment. Crashing into it and being reduced into dust of reishi would be a really stupid way to die. He landed in front of the gate, dismissing Hyourinmaru's spirit back to his inner world. He sighed in relief. A great strain on his reiatsu had lifter and he could give more to Yokoyama. He called at the guardian to open the gate. Kaiwan complied immediately. Hitsugaya lifted the unconscious lieutenant into his arms and shunpoed through. He raced towards the General Relief Station. The well-known route suddenly seemed twice as long as usual.

He rushed through the door before stopping. "Unohana-taichou!" he shouted.

"Don't shout in here, the captain is busy," a familiar voice said. Hitsugaya sent him a glare. Iemura Yasochika. Who else. Ever since he had been promoted to Fourth Seat, he became even more arrogant. The man didn't bother to lift his head from his diary, otherwise he wouldn't dare to speak to a captain like this.

"Unohana-taichou!" he shouted again.

"I told you... ah, it's you, Hitsugaya-taichou." Iemura suddenly looked very servile.

"Where's the emergency?" a new voice interjected. Kotetsu-fukutaichou. Finally somebody reasonable.

"A corrosive poison," Hitsugaya explained pointing at Yokoyama's prone body. Isane didn't need any more. She rushed towards his side, quickly activating a diagnostic Kidou. Then she started barking orders at her subordinates. The lobby soon filled with frantic activity.

"Where's Captain Unohana?" Toushirou asked as Yokoyama was taken from his arms and laid on a stretcher.

"She'll be here soon," the gray-haired girl reassured him. He nodded. That was good. He did all he could. Yokoyama was going to be alright. He could finally rest. As the adrenaline washed out of his bloodstream, the exhaustion caught up with him. He didn't even feel when he hit the ground.

.*****************************************************************************************.

When Hitsugaya came to, he realized he was lying on a hospital bed. That made him pause. What was he doing there? He didn't remember getting hurt. And he couldn't feel any pain either. So what was he doing there? He scrunched his brow in concentration. What was the last thing he remembered doing? And then it hit him. The fight. Carrying the wounded lieutenant. Yokoyama! What was with him? He got him to the hospital on time, didn't he?

He had to make sure. He jumped from the bed, noting absently that he didn't experience any difficulties. Now where could Yokoyama be? He couldn't feel the man's reiatsu, but because he'd been hurt so badly, he supposed he'd be in the Intensive Care. He knew where that was. He navigated the corridors expertly, ignoring the other patients and nurses.

He arrived at the ICU section shortly. He paused in the hallway, scanning the doors. Which one was Yokoyama behind? He still couldn't feel his presence. And there weren't any name tags on the doors. Unohana didn't want anybody to disturb the critical patients. So how could he find his lieutenant? If he tried opening the doors and somebody caught him, he'd have to face the wrath of Captain Unohana.

"So you are feeling better already, Hitsugaya-taichou?" a pleasant voice spoke behind him. Hitsugaya stiffened in dread. Oh no. It looked like he was going to face the wrath of Captain Unohana right now. He turned around slowly. There she stood, looking as pristine and motherly as ever, a slight smile gracing her lips.

"Yes," he confirmed. "Only I don't remember being wounded."

"You weren't," she replied. "Merely exhausted. You scared my subordinates a lot when you fainted." Hitsugaya blushed. "There's nothing to be ashamed for," Unohana reassured him with a smile. It was a benign, friendly smile, not one of her patented _smiles_. "You expedited much of your energy during the fight, bringing Yokoyama-fukutaichou here and keeping him alive. It was a great strain for a body so young." For once, Hitsugaya ignored the comment about his age.

"So where is Lieutenant Yokoyama?" he asked. "I can't find him." Not a single muscle moved on Unohana's face, yet somehow her expression changed entirely. She suddenly looked grave. A cold feeling settled in Hitsugaya's stomach. "Is it bad?" he asked. "Will he be ill for long? Will he even heal fully?" Unohana didn't answer. She just stood there, looking solemn. Hitsugaya's sense of dread intensified. "Will he remain crippled?" Now, finally, Unohana spoke.

"I'm sorry, Captain Hitsugaya."

"Is it bad?" The young captain looked at her with wide eyes, a mixture of childish hope and worry etched on his face. It was obvious to her that he hadn't yet guessed at Yokoyama's fate. It drove home the point how young he really was. Standing in front of her now, barefooted, his hair tussled and a hospital gown wrapped loosely around his small body, he didn't look anything like a captain and all like a scared child. He had barely changed since he had joined her division as a fresh Academy graduate. It made her wonder whether he was really ready for the burdens of his office. But it was too late now. She had already given her approval. She could now only hope that the child in front of her would be up to the task and figure out how to break him the news. Even with her long practice in delivering bad news, she still found the task hard. Especially considering most of the concerned relatives and friends weren't this young. She loathed having to break the hope in the child's wide eyes. But there was no avoiding it. She decided to get it over with quickly.

"Yokoyama Tarou is dead."

"What?" Hitsugaya blinked in shock. That couldn't be true. "But I got him here in time, he was still breathing and you can heal everything, he must be alright." He was babbling and he didn't care. Yokoyama couldn't be dead, he just couldn't. Not after what he had done to prevent it. And not with Unohana attending him. She could save everybody, couldn't she? He wanted to answer the question 'yes,' but the cold feeling settling in the pit of his stomach wouldn't allow him.

"I am afraid he is indeed dead," Unohana's soft voice interrupted his erratic train of thoughts.

"That can't be true," Hitsugaya whispered in one last desperate attempt to deny the reality. But deep down he knew. Yokoyama was dead. He had suspected he wasn't going to survive yesterday, he just couldn't accept it. He felt something clench in his chest.

Unohana gently laid a hand on his shoulder. Toushirou looked up. He realized he had been staring at the ground. That wasn't a polite thing to do while talking with another captain. Yet another point on the ever-growing list of his messes and failures.

"I know how hard it is to lose a subordinate." When she spoke, all her long experience was apparent in her voice. "Especially one that was close to you." Yokoyama wasn't, but Hitsugaya didn't feel like interrupting her. He had failed in his promise. He couldn't save even one of his men yesterday. "But this isn't the time and place to fall apart over it. Let's come to my office and talk about it over some tea." He nodded. Only now he realized that they weren't alone in the hallway. There was a pair of nurses staring at them, hanging onto their every word. Hitsugaya knew that they were going to tell all their friends about it. The privacy of patients aside, gossip was one of the few exciting things in the Fourth. Whatever happened, the whole division knew it the next day. That was how things worked. Hitsugaya sighed. He was acting like a little kid now and everybody was going to know. Another thing that went wrong with his captaincy. He briefly pondered whether he should just quit and then followed Unohana into her office.

He watched in silence as the older captain prepared the tea. He couldn't help but marvel at how serene, graceful, composed and confident she looked. Everything a captain should be. While he... he looked at his attire ruefully, he was running around in hospital gowns, panicking like a little kid. He wondered whether he would ever be as professional as Unohana. Was it something acquired with age and experience or was it some inborn talent he lacked?

Unohana finished the preparations and poured the hot water into their cups. Hitsugaya picked up his. The hot liquid was burning his fingers, he could never stand heat, but today he welcomed the pain. He felt like he deserved it for failing at being a captain. He must have been staring into the depths of his tea absently for too long, because Unohana spoke.

"I know how hard it is to lose a subordinate, especially one as close as one's adjutant."

"I didn't even like that guy," Toushirou replied, still staring into his mug. Unohana said nothing, only looked at him patiently. Somehow, that prompted Hitsugaya to say more. "But he was my subordinate and therefore under my protection. I failed him."

"Casualties in battle happen," Unohana pointed out.

"But this one was completely pointless. If he just stayed back... if I could stop him... if he just listened..." he trailed off.

"What happened?" Retsu asked.

"He just rushed in when I told him not to."

"If he disobeyed an order, it wasn't your fault," the healer stated.

"It was," Toushirou disagreed. "I couldn't make him obey. No matter what I did, he always saw me as a child that had to be pampered and protected. Somebody who can't do anything right on his own. He never saw me as a real captain. And maybe he was right."

"Don't sell yourself short. You wear the haori for a reason."

"Do I?" he asked dejectedly. "Sure, I'm good in a fight, but I'm no good in a position of authority. I could never make people obey me unquestioningly. Not like the other captains do. And that's why Yokoyama didn't obey when he should. He thought he had to protect me. He believed I needed it. I never showed him my strength. I didn't want to look like a bully. But maybe if I did beat him up, he might have lived." He sighed deeply. "I just have no idea how to be a captain."

"Don't doubt yourself too much. You were chosen as a captain for a reason." Hitsugaya smirked slightly. She sounded like Hyourinmaru.

"If you mean that there was a division that was too long without a captain and there was no-one with Bankai, then yes," he said bitterly.

"That's not it," Unohana disagreed. "You know very well that Bankai isn't enough to earn somebody the haori. But you do have what it takes."

"I don't feel like it."

"I can see that. But listen now. For every division, there come trying times. Every captain has a time where his abilities are tried to the limit. For you it happened right when you started. That's hard and that's why you doubt yourself so much. But the crisis will pass eventually. Leading a division during peaceful times will look easy in comparison."

"But how long will it take?" Hitsugaya asked dejectedly. "And what will happen before the trouble is over?"

"That I don't know," she admitted. "But you are already doing a lot to help already."

"Really?" he questioned skeptically. "I don't recall doing anything."

"Just being there helps," Unohana reassured him. "The Tenth isn't the only division without a captain anymore. It does wonders for the morale."

"I didn't notice. They seem skeptical about my command."

"You weren't in much contact with them before," Unohana answered. "You can't compare it."

"You mean it used to be even worse?" Hitsugaya found that hard to believe. She nodded.

"They were losing heart. Now they have hope again." Somehow, it didn't make Hitsugaya feel any better. It just drove home the point that hundreds of people now depended on him. And he didn't feel competent enough to manage.

"I'll just let them down."

"Don't underestimate yourself," she smiled. "You're doing well."

Hitsugaya grimaced. "I'm doing so well that a month into my captaincy I've already lost two unranked members of my division, then a whole unit of eight people and then the lieutenant."

"That wasn't your fault," Unohana replied. "Those two were sent on the mission before you became the Tenth's captain, weren't they? And no-one can predict a Menos' appearance. It was a stroke of bad luck."

"Well, yes, but they died under my command. And I barely met them. I can't even recall their names."

"It's unfortunate, but such things happen," the older captain said. "Their deaths weren't your fault in any way. And I know you did everything in your power to save lieutenant Yokoyama."

"But it just wasn't enough. If he didn't think I was a child..." the young captain trailed off.

"That was his fault," Unohana stated. "Everybody in Seireitei should know that the captain position is awarded only to the best. The fact that you wear the haori should have been enough to announce that you are one of those. If he failed to understand it and judged you by your appearance instead, then it was his failure."

"I suppose that's mostly true, but it wasn't just my appearance he judged me by," Hitsugaya answered. He sighed as he remembered the incident with the fallen bookcase. Did it really happen just yesterday? It seemed a lifetime ago. "I did some things that weren't entirely mature. I cannot fault him for judging him by those."

"I don't know what those things were, but if you look at the other captains, you'll see them doing lots of things that aren't exactly mature and dignified. It shouldn't have mattered."

"But it did," Toushirou sighed. "With me, it always mattered. Everybody is just waiting for any sign that I act as a child. I can never convince that I'm not. And maybe they are right."

"Hitsugaya-taichou," Unohana spoke in a serious tone, "as I oversaw your Captain's Exam, I know that you are qualified enough for your post. So don't wallow in self-pity. There's no time for it. You have a whole division depending on you, remember?"

"Yes," the boy sighed.

"You have to be there for them now. They lost their lieutenant so they have only you now. It will be hard without a vice-captain to help you. But I trust you will manage." She said it in a tone Hitsugaya had heard before. She had used it first so long ago when he was still a member of the Fourth and she had just made him the commander of a unit. It was a tone that told him that failure wasn't an option. Because if he failed, she would be very disappointed with him. And just like back then, Hitsugaya still couldn't imagine disappointing Unohana. He knew that he would find the strength to make himself look like a captain again and face his division and lead it. He wasn't looking forward to it, but if he looked any other way, Unohana's kindly smiling face would watch him.

"I will," he said. His mind was already going through what he would tell to his subordinates. How would they take it? Where would he find a new lieutenant? Their Third Seat was unsuitable. So was the Fourth. They didn't have a Fifth and lower ranks didn't even come into consideration. What paperwork would he have to fill? And did somebody clean up the mess in his office? Probably not.

Unohana smiled as she saw the change in the boy's demeanor. She knew he had it in him to get over the crisis. He just needed the right prompt. The Tenth Division was in good hands.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya returned to his office right after he made himself presentable again. He still felt miserable, but he regained enough self control not to show it. He wasn't looking forward to facing his division. Did they already know about Yokoyama-fukutaichou's death? Probably. News traveled fast in Seireitei. What should he tell them when they asked about Yokoyama's death? That the man disobeyed a direct order and got killed as a result? Or that the man tried to order him around? What would they think about it? Maybe he should just tell them that Yokoyama had been mortally wounded in the battle. They didn't really need to know the rest.

When he entered the Tenth Division's premises, he was flocked by his subordinates immediately. The questions they asked him were exactly as he expected. Was Yokoyama-fukutaichou really dead? How did it happen? What happened to the patrol group? He answered as best as he could. Lieutenant Yokoyama was really dead. He was killed by a Menos Grande. The patrol group was already dead when they arrived. He wished everybody would just leave him alone, but they still clung to him. He realized that it was exactly how Unohana had said. He was the only leader left in this division and they now all looked up to him, no matter what they thought about his abilities. It made him feel woefully inadequate.

Finally he reached his office and could lock himself in, safe from their questions and their eyes full of uncertainty. But it granted him little relief. He discovered that, exactly as he had expected, nobody even touched the mess on the floor. The bookcase was still overturned and important documents scattered on the floor. It would take at least a week to straighten out and he had more important things to do. The folder with the budget request lay on his desk, exactly where he had left it, mocking him with its normality. The budget request suddenly seemed completely unimportant compared to the loss of his second-in-command. But it still needed to be filled and Hitsugaya realized that now there was nobody who could help him with it. Now he would gladly welcome Yokoyama's help and he wouldn't care if it made him look like a child. But the man wasn't here to help him and look at him patronizingly anymore. It was strange, but Hitsugaya realized that he missed Yokoyama. It was almost enough to make the boy cry again.

He took a deep breath. He couldn't cry. He couldn't afford such luxury anymore. He was a captain now and he had a division to lead. So he'd better lead it well because if he didn't then Unohana would be disappointed in him. And despite being a captain now and equal in rank, he was still terrified of disappointing her. He'd find the strength to deal with everything. First things first. He'd call somebody to clean up and he'd fill the budget request in the meantime. And he'd organize Yokoyama's funeral. No, he'd tell the Third Seat to do it and hope that the man would do it right. Yes, it was going to be tough, but it was doable. And once everything would be in order, he'd start looking for a new lieutenant.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The day of Yokoyama's funeral came. Hitsugaya, as the captain, was supposed to make a speech. He spent a whole night trying to put something together, but everything he wrote sounded lame even to him. How was he supposed to praise someone he didn't have a high opinion about? How was he supposed to comfort his subordinates when he had no idea how to comfort anyone? And then there was the Seventh Patrol unit whose names and faces he didn't even remember.

He decided to be logical about it. There were certain things every funeral speech was supposed to say and certain things that shouldn't be mentioned. It didn't take him long to make a list of both. He elaborated from there. He wasn't really satisfied with the result, but it was the best he could do. At least there wouldn't be any embarrassed silence or hasty searching for the right words tomorrow. And if people didn't like it, well, he had more important duties than writing speeches so they'd have to suck it up. He spent the rest of the night tackling the workload that had suddenly doubled now he didn't have a lieutenant to help him. Did he really think that no lieutenant was better than Yokoyama once? He'd have to look for one as soon as he could. But first they had to lay Yokoyama to rest.

In the morning he put on his best uniform and headed to the funeral site. Hitsugaya was surprised how many people looked genuinely sad. It surprised him. Yokoyama hadn't been a good lieutenant, so why would they miss him so much? Then he remembered that according to the rumors Yokoyama had been a step up from his predecessor. As much as Hitsugaya disliked the deceased lieutenant, even he had to admit that for all his idiocy the man had some redeeming qualities. He had always tried to help Hitsugaya, in his stupid, annoying and unwanted way. He had even died to save him, completely oblivious of the fact that the captain didn't need it. That had been heroic, if stupid. Maybe, just maybe, if he stopped being so dense and realized that Hitsugaya was actually competent enough for his job, he might have become a decent vice-captain. But now they will never know.

_Damn it, _Hitsugaya thought, _now I'm actually missing him. _He quickly shook off the feelings. He didn't come here to muse and get lost in his thoughts, he came here to deliver a speech. And so he began speaking. He had no trouble recalling the speech he had prepared yesterday night. He mentioned how important Yokoyama had been to the division, (he hoped that the gathered shinigami couldn't tell he didn't really mean it), mentioned his long service, (without going into details, because there wasn't much to praise him for), and finished telling about his heroic end fighting a Menos Grande. He didn't tell them that Yokoyama brought on his own death by his own stupidity. They didn't need to know that.

The eyes of his subordinates were on him when he finished and they didn't look happy. Well, that was to be expected considering that this was a funeral, but it still felt like they were condemning his speech and maybe even him. Some of the faces in the crowd didn't look friendly at all. Some of the glares felt like they blamed him for Yokoyama's death. It was unnerving. The fact that Hitsugaya thought that Yokoyama might have survived if he was a better captain didn't help it at all.

Hitsugaya stayed only as long as was required. He knew that his early departure might be considered impolite, but he couldn't stand the accusing eyes anymore. He retreated to his office, not caring that he was running away. He just couldn't bear it. There he tackled the pile of paperwork that had mysteriously appeared on his desk while everybody attended the funeral. Soon the work made him forget about his worries.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Hitsugaya sighed as he walked through the corridors of his division. Another day, another failure. Once again he'd have to tackle the mountain of paperwork that undoubtedly gathered on his desk during his absence on his own. The thought made him cringe. It took him a week of his captaincy to realize that he utterly loathed paperwork, but it had to be done. The one time he didn't get it right and on time, he had to suffer through a lecture from Captain Kurotsuchi on how he wasn't good enough to be a captain when he couldn't even fill a request for new equipment correctly. It was an experience he never wanted to repeat so he was determined to keep his paperwork in order, no matter how much it bothered him.

That made him sigh again. If he only had a good vice-captain who would help him, everything would be easier. But he couldn't find one and he couldn't understand why. Iba Tetsuzaemon took the position he had vacated in the Seventh Division before Yokoyama died. His old classmate Kira Izuru was picked to be the next lieutenant of the Third once Iba Chikane retired, saying that now her son made lieutenant too she didn't need to watch over him anymore. Hitsugaya was a bit surprised. He hadn't considered Kira a lieutenant material, at least not yet, but it was Ichimaru-taichou's decision. He wondered how the Third was going to function when the Third Seat Matsumoto Rangiku was so obviously stronger than the Second Seat, but that was Ichimaru's problem.

For a moment, he entertained the idea of asking Matsumoto to become his lieutenant, but he discarded it quickly. She might be strong enough, but she certainly wouldn't help him with his paperwork. He shuddered when he remembered how she always used to delegate her paperwork to her subordinates, him being her favorite target. No, not Matsumoto. And that wasn't counting her strangleholds, dress-up parties and boob attacks. No, Matsumoto was out of the question. Unfortunately that didn't leave him with many other options. More precisely, the last person he considered eligible had just turned him down, saying something about incompatible personalities and being content where he was. Hitsugaya could tell that it was an excuse, but try as he might he didn't manage to pry the real reason from him. In the end, it didn't matter. The man had refused and that was it.

But that left him with a problem. He was still without a lieutenant and he already went through all his list of possible candidates. Now he could either ask somebody who wasn't qualified to be anything above Third Seat (and even that only barely) or proceed to lead his division without the assistance of a Second. And that wasn't something he wanted to do. If he could just convince somebody to change their opinion and accept the position, everything would be better, but that required knowing why they refused. And he was in the dark about their reasons.

He was brought out of his musings when he heard his name spoken. He looked around, searching for the person who called him, but then he realized that nobody did. Only two of his subordinates were talking just behind the corner and the subject of the conversation was him. He wanted to simply ignore it, but then something was said that made him pause.

"I already pity the poor sod that gets the position," a vaguely familiar voice said. Hitsugaya knew it belonged to one of his subordinates, but couldn't match a name or a face to it.

"That's right," another vaguely familiar voice agreed. "I wouldn't want to spend a minute in his presence if I didn't have to. He always yells at everybody." _That's because they won't obey otherwise, _Hitsugaya thought. _Honestly, the discipline in this division is still abysmal. _He ignored the voice of his conscience that told him that it was impolite to listen in on private conversations. He didn't want to waste a perfect opportunity to learn what people really thought about him.

"He's a brat," the first voice stated. "Why did we have to end up with him as our captain? Why couldn't we get Ichimaru? Now the Third would be stuck with the brat." Hitsugaya was sorely tempted to reveal his presence and punish those two for badmouthing him behind his back, but he refrained. They might still say something useful.

"He scares me," the second speaker announced. "I never know when he's going to freeze me. He almost did that once." _Huh? _Toushirou thought. _When? _He didn't freeze anyone since joining the Tenth. What was that guy talking about?

"I didn't hear about it," the first man said.

"You wouldn't," the second replied. "It was the long time ago, when we were both at the Academy." Oh, now Hitsugaya recognized the man. It was Ishiwara Hiro, his one-time roommate, who now was one of the lower seated officers within the Tenth. Nineteenth Seat or something. He had kicked Hitsugaya out of their dorm during the first night, when Toushirou's uncontrolled reiatsu had covered the room in ice. He had almost forgotten about the incident. But surely Hiro understood he didn't do it on purpose? "He was dangerous even then." Or maybe he just didn't care.

"That must have been bad," the first person commiserated.

"At least it didn't last long," Hiro shrugged. "He got moved to the second year soon, so we didn't have to deal with him again. Well, until now."

"That sucks," the still unidentified man commented. "Was he so bad even back then?"

"Uh-hm," Hiro nodded. "When we first practiced kendo, he got all angry because I was getting the better of him and released his reiatsu on me. I ended up in the infirmary after that." _You make it sound like I did it on purpose, _Hitsugaya scowled. He had never liked Hiro in the Academy and the man was doing nothing to change it.

"So he was prone to throwing temper tantrums even back then?" Now Hitsugaya had to employ all his self-control to keep standing still.

"He got angered easily. I heard he got almost kicked out of the Academy for attacking two other students, because he didn't like them." _They attacked me! _Hitsugaya wanted to shout, but he could only listen in stunned disbelief. Was that what his division really thought of him?

"And now we're stuck with him as our captain," Hiro's companion sighed. "He can do anything to us and we can't even protest. And he's prone to attacking people he dislikes. Poor Yokoyama-fukutaichou." _Huh? What was that supposed to mean?_

"He was a good man," Hiro added. "Maybe not a good commander, but a good man. He didn't deserve to end like that." Hitsugaya had to agree. Yokoyama insisted on patronizing him and had trouble obeying his orders, but he wasn't really a bad person. Just one who shouldn't have become a lieutenant because he lacked the brains required. The sight of his flesh melting under the Hollow's poison was one of the most gruesome things Hitsugaya had ever witnessed.

"Do you believe it?" the still unnamed man asked.

"Believe what, Koukichirou?" _Koukichirou? _That sounded vaguely familiar. Was he one of the lower seated officers too? Probably.

"You know what," Koukichirou said. "That he did it on purpose. That he fed Yokoyama-fukutaichou to a Hollow because he couldn't stand him." _What? _Hitsugaya felt like he was hit by a lightning. Somebody actually thought he had murdered his subordinate, and in such a heinous way to boot? How could they? Though now he recalled the eyes burning holes into him at Yokoyama's funeral, he realized that they probably did. But he still couldn't understand how could they.

"You shouldn't say such things aloud," Hiro chastised him. "You never know who's listening." _Damn right, _Hitsugaya thought.

"So do you believe it?" Koukichirou insisted. Hitsugaya didn't wait for his answer. He decided that enough was enough. He walked around the corner, leaking a bit of his reiatsu. The two men froze as if he had unleashed Hyourinmaru's Bankai on them.

"T-Taichou!" Hiro exclaimed nervously. "G-good day." Koukichirou just trembled.

"This is not much of a good day," Hitsugaya stated. "Especially not for the two of you. You know that spreading slanderous rumors about your superiors is a punishable offense?"

"But we weren't spreading any rumors," Hiro defended.

"No?" Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "It sounded like you did from where I stood. And such ridiculous ones! How can you ever believe something like that?"

"I don't believe it!" Hiro said and Koukichirou nodded. Neither of them sounded convincing.

"You were saying it," Hitsugaya retorted. "Somewhere anyone could hear. That's just as bad. The rumor will spread. The morale will drop further. Do you think we can afford it?" They looked ashamed. "I thought so. You are going to be punished. And so will everyone else who spreads such ridiculous accusation." The young captain noticed a flash of resentment in Hiro's face. It irritated him. His former classmate obviously didn't think he did anything wrong. That might prove to be troublesome. Who knows what rumors would sprout from this. If he just had a way to stop them, everything would be easier, but he had no way to do so. It wasn't like he could punish the whole division for it. Maybe he should make an example of those morons. And maybe that would earn him a reputation of being cruel and unfair. He suppressed the urge to sigh aloud. He couldn't do it where his subordinates could see. He wished he understood people better. He could rarely guess correctly how they would react. He wished he knew how to convince his division that he was a worthy captain. He couldn't see a way to accomplish it after the initial debacles. But he could leave that for later. Now he had to find a fitting punishment for those two miscreants. He debated whether to be strict or lenient. He couldn't decide. In the end, he did something in-between.

After sending the two on their way, he sunk into the chair in his office. It had been a bad day. The only good news was that he finally knew why nobody wanted to be his lieutenant. The bad news was that he had no idea what to do about it. If the rumors spread into other divisions... he didn't even want to think about it. He needed to quench the rumors. He had no idea who was starting them. Was it the same person who had started some of the other nasty rumors making their way around the Tenth? He spent a minute imagining the things he would do to that person if he found them.

He sighed deeply. This thoughts were getting him nowhere. He had other things to deal with. Namely the piles of paperwork stacked on his desk. With another sigh, he took the first sheet of paper and began writing.

.*****************************************************************************************.

Rangiku couldn't believe it. How could Gin do this to her? After all they've gone through together, weren't they best friends? It was true that they didn't spend as much time together as they used to when they were children, but they didn't drift apart. Or did they and she just never noticed? No, that was impossible. So what possible reason could he have for doing that?

"Why did you do it?" she asked once she found herself alone with him in his office. Ichimaru looked at her from behind his desk. Even after two years, the sight of him in the captain's haori felt novel to her.

"Did what, Ran-chan?" he asked with his trademark grin. Usually it was endearing to her, but now she wanted to punch it.

"You know what I'm talking about," she answered angrily. "Why did you take that kid as your new lieutenant?" Ever since Gin had become her captain, she had been expecting she'd become his new lieutenant once Chikane retired. They had never spoken about it, but she had never thought there was a need to. Then Chikane had announced her upcoming retirement, whether because she had thought that the new captain had everything under control now or because she had declared him a hopeless case and didn't want anything to do with him anymore was unclear. Matsumoto had considered it a given that she was going to be Chikane's successor. But now Iba-fukutaichou had finally left, Gin picked somebody else over her. To Matsumoto it felt like the worst betrayal.

"Why not?" he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Why not?" she echoed incredulously. "There's nothing special about him! He's been in the Gotei 13 for how long? Eight years?"

"Nine," Gin corrected.

"And he isn't particularly strong," Matsumoto continued. "I can take him with one arm tied behind my back and won't even break a sweat!"

"Izuru's better than that," the silver-haired man replied.

"He isn't," she insisted. "Maybe he's good for a newbie, but he isn't at fukutaichou level. So why did you pick him?"

"Why not?" he replied. "I'm the taichou here. I can pick anyone I want." His ever-present grin was infuriating.

"But why would you want him?" the blonde questioned.

"I just do," he smiled.

"That's no answer," she huffed.

"That's my answer," he shrugged uncaringly.

"Damnit, Gin, don't play with me. I want to know why!" Rangiku demanded. "Why the hell did you pick that emo kid over me?"

"So that's what it's about?" Ichimaru grinned, undisturbed by her outburst.

"What else did you think?" she snapped.

"How would I know?" he shrugged, sounding unconcerned.

"Stop playing with me!" Matsumoto slammed her palm on the desk angrily. The paperwork scattered across the table was lifted off the surface and started drifting through the room. Nobody paid it any attention.

"Aw, but don'tcha like playing with me, Ran-chan?"

"Stop avoiding the question!" she scowled. "I have no time for your games. Why did you pick that wimp over me?"

There were many reasons. According to Aizen's plan, his vice-captain had to be obedient, easily manipulated, never questioning his authority and most important of all expendable. Rangiku was nothing of the above. Least of all expendable. But it was something he couldn't tell her. He had to lie, no matter how much it hurt him. And he had to come up with an excuse Rangiku would believe. It was going to be hard, because she knew him too well.

"Bein' a fukutaichou is dangerous."

"So?" she shrugged. "I can take care of myself. As you know." He knew it. He knew it very well.

"I know, but it is very dangerous."

"I'm not scared," she scoffed.

"But I am," he replied sincerely.

"What?" Matsumoto blinked, taken aback.

"I am scared that something would happen t' ya," he elaborated. "That's why I don't wanna drag you on dangerous missions. I couldna bear if ya got eaten by a Menos."

"Oh Gin," Rangiku replied, somewhat mollified. "It's nice to hear that you care, but I really can take care of myself. Besides, don't you want us to be together?"

"Of course I do, Ran-chan." Ichimaru replied. "That's why I'm in this division." Despite herself, Matsumoto had to smile. But that didn't mean she'd let Gin win.

"Then why didn't you make me your fukutaichou? A fukutaichou spends much more time around her captain than a Third Seat."

"Ah, but a captain can spend as much time around his Third Seat as he wants," Ichimaru said with a wider grin than usual. Matsumoto felt her anger dissipating. Then she cursed herself. Damn Gin, he nearly sweet-talked her into forgetting she was angry with him. And he still didn't give her a sufficient answer. Her eyes hardened again.

"That isn't an answer! Stop with the excuses and tell me the real reason you did it!" she demanded.

"But I already told ya," the man replied.

"No you didn't."

"I did."

"You didn't."

"I did."

"Aaargh," Matsumoto threw her arm in the air in frustration, "you aren't going to tell me, are you?"

"Ya know me, Ran-chan," Gin grinned, completely undisturbed by her outburst.

"I know you," she sighed. "You're too stubborn to tell me. But you really hurt me, choosing that whiny boy over me."

"Uh, maybe I should come later?" Kira said from the door, shifting a stack of paperwork in his hands uncertainly. Matsumoto turned in surprise. She didn't sense him coming; she was too deep into her argument with Gin.

"There's no need, Kira-fukutaichou," Rangiku said sharply. "I've already finished my business with Ichimaru-taichou." She strode out of the door briskly, leaving the confused lieutenant staring after her.

"Come in, Izuru," Ichimaru motioned to his new second. The blond man obeyed. As he laid the documents on the table and explained what they were and why they had to be filled and signed immediately, Ichimaru's mind drifted. He didn't want to upset Rangiku. He was doing everything for her, he just couldn't tell her. For the umpteenth time, he cursed Aizen silently for making him hurt Rangiku again, however indirectly. He wondered how this would affect their friendship. He hoped he didn't do irreparable damage to it. _Curse you, Aizen._ _I'll get you, _he promised._ I'm going to kill you and then Rangiku won't have to cry anymore._

As Matsumoto was walking through the corridors of the Third briskly, her subordinates were scattering before her. They rarely saw their Third Seat so angry, but they knew better than to bother her with anything now. The woman paid them no mind. _Damn you, Gin,_ she thought. _Curse you for doing this to me. Do you really think I'm so inept? Or is it something else? It doesn't really matter. I'll show him that I can be a perfect lieutenant. And if he won't let me, I'll try somewhere else. Cha! He's going to regret he didn't take me._

.*****************************************************************************************.

Matsumoto strode through the streets of Seireitei purposefully. Even a day after she had the argument with Gin, several bottles of sake in the local bar and a talk with one of her friends from the SWA, ("Heh, shows just what kind of loser you are. If even your sweetheart doesn't want you for his lieutenant, nobody would.") and getting kicked out of said bar after giving her now former friend a black eye, she was still determined (or maybe even more determined) to show everybody up and become a lieutenant. She wasn't worried about the extra workload, she had spent several years as Chikane's second, so she knew how to delegate or outright shirk her responsibilities. So once her hangover disappeared, she headed for the only division that was currently without a vice-captain. The fact that she knew and was friendly with the captain was an added bonus. As were his difficulties in finding a new second-in-command. The fact that said division was having major problems was only a minor concern.

As she walked through the corridors of the Tenth, the men stared, but nobody questioned her presence there. Everybody assumed she was here for an errand. Finding the captain's office was easy for her, despite the Tenth having a completely different layout than the Third. Matsumoto had friends and acquaintances everywhere and had visited all of the thirteen divisions. She got acquainted with the Tenth's barracks when she used to visit Nakashima-fukutaichou and hear her complaints about her problems with her subordinates over a jug of sake or three.

Finally she arrived at the door and flung them open without knocking. Her favorite little snowball was sitting behind his desk, looking so cute in his tiny haori, battling with a mountain of paperwork lying in front of him. When he saw the cause of the disturbance, he glared at her in annoyance.

"Matsumoto-sanseki. What do you want here?" she decided to take it as a greeting.

"Why so cold?" she retorted. "Can't I just go visit an old friend? Though you aren't really old." Hitsugaya scowled. Why, oh why did the Crazy Lady Matsumoto have to come and bother him now? Did she get off of torturing him so much? Couldn't she see how much work did he have? Managing a dysfunctional division without the assistance of a lieutenant was no walk in the park. He wished he had a second he could rely on, but that was easier said than done. There were few suitable candidates and all of them refused the position. Stupid rumors. Even weeks after overhearing the conversation in the hallway he couldn't understand how could anybody believe such nonsense. Disliking somebody wasn't a reason to kill them. Otherwise there would be no people left in Seireitei.

"You have better friends elsewhere," he pointed out.

"But I felt like visiting you today," she replied. "I haven't congratulated you on your promotion yet."

"Thanks. Was that all?"

"No," she shook her head.

"So what else do you want?" Hitsugaya mentally prepared himself for an onslaught of ridiculous requests.

"Well," she looked thoughtful for a moment, "I want to be a lieutenant."

"What?" Hitsugaya blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected that. After all the difficulties in finding a lieutenant somebody volunteered? If it was anyone else, he would have accepted them on the spot. But Matsumoto? She was lazy, obnoxious, permanently drunk and had an aversion to paperwork. She wouldn't help him any and she would drive him crazy. He had enough of her after a year in the Third. _**"But now you could pull rank on her," **_Hyourinmaru suggested. Toushirou had to admit that the idea of turnabout was tempting.

"You heard me," Matsumoto said. "I want to be a lieutenant and Gin wouldn't take me." _He probably knew why, _Hitsugaya thought. "And I heard that you are looking for one, so I'm applying. The spot is still open, isn't it? I heard Fukida, Marume, Ono and Ihara all turned you down. That leaves you with no-one eligible. Unless you wanted to ask Ueda, but I wouldn't recommend that. He's too stupid and hotheaded. And his skills aren't all that great either."

"And you are lazy, drunk and insubordinate," Hitsugaya deadpanned.

"You're being unfair, captain," Matsumoto pouted. "I don't drink that much."

"That's a matter of opinion. And there are still the matters of laziness and insubordination."

"I'm not that bad, am I?" she questioned. "Besides, if you don't take me, you'd have no lieutenant. And no lieutenant does no work." That was unfortunately true.

"No lieutenant can't bother me when I'm supposed to be working," Hitsugaya retorted.

"Am I bothering you that much?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Don't be so harsh, I can be very useful too." She leaned forward, giving Hitsugaya a close view of her cleavage. The boy unconsciously backed off, but then took a hold of himself. He was a captain now. He had to act confidently.

"Oh?" The white-haired youth raised an eyebrow. "I know you're a good fighter, but what else can you do? As far as I know it's drinking people under the table and gossiping."

"That's not true," she disagreed. "I can do plenty things."

"Can you do paperwork?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Then why did I never see you actually doing it?" He questioned.

"Because I don't like doing it. But I can do it very well when I want to," she boasted. Inside, she didn't feel so confident. She had tried some of her best persuasion methods and they weren't working. The little snowball looked determined to refuse her. And she wouldn't have it. But what else could she try when ever her breasts weren't enough to convince him?

"And when do you want to?"

"Not very often," she admitted. "But I'll do it for you," she promised. "At least the first week," she added as an afterthought. Despite himself, Hitsugaya had to smile.

"Drinking and gossiping is just so much more interesting, isn't it?" It wasn't really a question.

"It is," she agreed wholeheartedly. "But it's also very useful."

"Oh?" He couldn't imagine how gossip could be useful. In his experience, it was always trouble. Even his current predicament was caused by gossip.

"That's true," she nodded. "You can learn a whole lot of things by just listening to people. Even things you aren't supposed to know. If you took me as your lieutenant, I'll keep you informed." Hitsugaya pondered it for a while. He had to admit he didn't think about it from this angle. Being informed would be nice. Especially knowing who was spreading the slander. Somebody like Matsumoto should be able to find out. Plus, unlike him, she was good at dealing with people. She understood them and could always make them do whatever she wanted. If he accepted her, she would take care of matters he wasn't able to deal with properly. And her aversion to paperwork? Well, he was already doing it all himself now, so no loss there. Maybe accepting her wasn't such a bad idea.

"So you don't believe the rumors?" he inquired.

"Of course not," she laughed. "I know you're too much of a sweetie to do something like that." Hitsugaya didn't like her tone and the way she addressed him, but that was drowned out by relief. She trusted him. Maybe this could work.

"Matsumoto-sanseki," he spoke slowly. "Do you know who is spreading the slander?"

"Well, no, but I should be able to find out," she replied. "I know a bunch of people who like to come up with ridiculous theories, so it is probably one of them. It shouldn't be hard to determine which one."

"So if I accepted you as my fukutaichou, would you do it?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed. She had to restrain herself not to do a victory dance. The little snowball might see it as a reason to change his opinion.

"Then we have a deal. Welcome to the Tenth, Matsumoto-fukutaichou." This time she didn't restrain herself. She reached over the table and crushed his head in her bosom.

"MAFUMOFO!" he shouted as he struggled to get free. For a moment he wondered whether he just made a mistake.

"Yes, taichou?" she asked just as he finally escaped her grasp.

"You have an order. Find the rumor mongrels and report them to me."

"Yes, taichou!" She gave him a salute and a mischievous grin before bouncing out of the room. Hitsugaya remained in his office alone with his paperwork. He smiled. The mundane bureaucracy could wait. He was going to fill the forms for accepting a new lieutenant first.


	20. Together at last

**Author's**** note:** So here it goes. The last chapter of this story. Yes, dear readers, this is the end. It's been over a year since I started publishing this story and now it's complete. It's my first complete epic-length story, so I don't know whether to feel sad it's over or celebrate work well done.

I made two illustrations for this chapter, they are on my DA account, link on my author's profile page. (I'm getting really tired of writing this every chapter.)

That's all I wanted to say here. Read and enjoy and don't skip the end note.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**On the Frozen Plain – Together at last**

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Why do you keep this chair and desk, taichou?" the busty blonde asked. It was the first day of Matsumoto's tenure as the Tenth Division lieutenant. She had come in five minutes late, squeezed Hitsugaya's face between her boobs instead of a greeting and started asking stupid questions instead of doing her share of paperwork. The young captain felt a sliver of doubt whether appointing her as his second-in-command had been a good idea. He shrugged. He had never put much hope into this arrangement. He had a fukutaichou finally and maybe Matsumoto would be able to find the source of the vicious rumors and he'd deal with them. So for now, he had to bear with her antics. Or maybe he didn't have to. He was her superior now. He could just order her to cease them.

"Stop asking ridiculous questions and get to work," he snapped. "That huge pile of documents on your table won't sign themselves."

"This isn't a ridiculous question, taichou," Matsumoto countered. "You're kneeling on the chair. That can't possibly be comfortable and you look ridiculous. Why don't you get a chair you could sit on?"

"Because..." Hitsugaya paused. What should he say now? A child's desk would look ridiculous in a captain's office? A high chair was utterly humiliating? "I have more pressing concerns to attend to."

"I think this one is pressing enough," Rangiku expressed her opinion. "You'd be able to work better if you were comfortable."

"I can work just fine," he replied.

"But you could work much better," Matsumoto insisted.

"I said I can work just fine," Hitsugaya repeated more forcefully. "But you aren't working at all. So get behind your desk and start filling the paperwork."

"Yes, taichou," the busty woman yielded. She wanted to make a good impression on her first day. She sat behind the desk and tackled the paperwork obediently.

.*****************************************************************************************.

As the afternoon dragged on, Matsumoto fell like pulling her hair out. The characters in front of her eyes were swimming. She couldn't tell what the form was about. It probably didn't matter. She couldn't understand what most of the reports were good for. She got why they needed to know how much supplies they had, but did they really need a daily report of Hell Butterfly breeding or new recruits training? And all the patrol reports saying 'nothing of note happened' in several thousand words when two would be enough? Was there any purpose to it besides making the division heads' lives miserable? It didn't seem so. And now she was stuck reading and approving it. She never had to do so much when she was the Third Seat. Iba Chikane had managed everything herself. Matsumoto felt a wave of admiration towards her. How was she able to deal with it for decades when she felt like screaming after less than a day? Why did she have to become a fukutaichou when it meant being stuck with this? Could she just quit? No, she wouldn't do that. She wanted to be a lieutenant too much. And giving up now would prove that Gin had been right when he hadn't promoted her and she wouldn't have it. She would remain a lieutenant. And if it meant she would have to do paperwork, well, she'll just have to find a way to get out of it. A plan began forming in her mind. She stood up and started walking towards the door.

"And where do you think you are going, Matsumoto-fukutaichou?" the stern voice of her captain stopped her in her tracks.

"Out," she replied simply.

"Your work isn't done yet," Hitsugaya pointed out.

"You mean the paperwork?" she questioned.

"What else would I mean?" he retorted, staring at the pile on her desk pointedly.

"You assigned me a more important task, remember?" she replied, completely undisturbed by the slight drop in the room's temperature. "If you want me to find the source of the rumors, you have to let me search for it."

"You can search for it when your paperwork's done," Hitsugaya grumbled, but he didn't sound as angry as he did a moment before. Matsumoto shook her head.

"By that time, I'd lose the best opportunity. Everybody would leave for the day. I have to go now, when the lower seated officers have finished with their paperwork, but didn't leave yet. Now is the time when they are in their offices gossiping, so now is the best opportunity to find out something."

Hitsugaya thought over her explanation for a while. "Whatever," he sighed in resignation. "Go."

"Thank you, taichou," she smiled brightly and bounced out of the office. Once outside, she allowed herself a huge grin. That had been easy. She wondered what she should do. Hit the bars? She didn't want to go alone. Maybe she should invite Hisagi. But the Ninth Division Lieutenant would be busy preparing the newest issue of Seireitei Communication for print. Or maybe she should do what she promised she would, her conscience reminded her. If she didn't do any work, Hitsugaya would kick her out. She sighed. She didn't feel like working, but then her face brightened again. What was better for dragging information out of people than sharing a drink or five? She'll go and invite some of her new subordinates for a drink. That way she'd be able to relax and fulfill Hitsugaya's order at the same time. She smiled brightly as she headed towards the office the Third and Fourth Seats shared. Life was good.

.*****************************************************************************************.

On the second day, Matsumoto arrived to the office an hour late and clearly hungover.

"Explain yourself," Hitsugaya demanded in an icy, too loud tone.

"Do you have to speak so loud?" the miserable looking woman groaned.

"I said explain yourself," Hitsugaya repeated, speaking even louder and sending new waves of pain through Matsumoto's head. "It's your second day of work and you're late again. And you're hung-over. So do you have a reason for being in this state?" The lieutenant winced. Her head was hurting big time. But she was experienced enough to function even in this state.

"I've been looking for the source of the rumors," she reported.

"In a bottle of sake?" he questioned.

"No, in this division," she answered. "People tell you much more over a drink. And I had to have lots of drinks with a lot of people yesterday."

"Did you find out anything?" Hitsugaya asked with a hint of hope in his voice.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's nobody among the higher seats. I'll talk to some of the lower seats today. But it might be slow going if it's somebody unranked."

"Hm." It wasn't apparent whether Hitsugaya was satisfied with her report or not. "Is that all?"

"Well, I did something to quell the rumors, though the results will show later."

"What it is?" He sounded a bit wary.

"I explained how you did everything in your power to save poor Yokoyama. They were so moved when they heard that you tried to heal him so hard you fainted."

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said. Though this story might help change his subordinates' opinion of him, it was highly embarrassing. He'd prefer if they didn't hear the last part.

"Did I tell you that you have the cutest blush yet, taichou?" Matsumoto asked.

"Don't change the topic," Hitsugaya changed the topic. "Did your plan work?"

"I think so," she nodded. "When I talked to Fourth Seat Arai, he said that if it was true that you feed bad lieutenants to Hollows, I won't live long. So if you don't feed me to a Hollow anytime soon, people would see that you aren't in the habit of killing adjutants you don't like." Hitsugaya was taken aback. He certainly didn't expect that. He wasn't sure whether to be glad or angry. That would depend on whether Matsumoto's plan would actually work.

"Don't think I'll let you get away with slacking just because of this," he said. "And now get to work. You haven't even touched half of yesterday's paperwork yet."

"Don't be so cruel, taichou," she whined. "Do you have any idea how much my head hurts?"

"It's your fault for drinking so much yesterday," Hitsugaya replied without a hint of compassion in his voice.

"But I did it all for you," she pleaded. Sure he couldn't be so ungrateful...

"Get to work, Matsumoto," the young captain commanded. It looked like he could. With a sigh, Matsumoto settled behind her desk and picked up the first paper. She stared at it without really registering the words. Curse it, she thought. Why did she have to be stuck with a stick-in-the-mud for a captain? It would have been easier if she had stayed in the Third. Gin would never make her work like this. Was this the real reason he didn't make her his fukutaichou? If so, she wasn't really angry at him anymore. Maybe she could just return there and she wouldn't have to touch the brush ever again. That loser Kira kid would do everything. But that would also mean having to obey said loser kid. She was too proud to do that. She was too proud to admit defeat. She would preserve, no matter how much paperwork would the little icicle of a captain pile on her. She'd find a way to get out of it. It had worked yesterday, it would work again. And when it would stop working, she'd come up with a new excuse. And eventually the little slave-driver would learn that there was no point in trying to make her do paperwork. Despite her persistent headache, she smiled. She had a Plan.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The next day Matsumoto arrived to the office an hour late too, but this time she looked fresh and sober. She barely greeted her captain when she turned back and shouted at somebody.

"Yes, in here, guys. And don't crash into the doorframe!" Hitsugaya looked at her questioningly, but she wasn't paying him any attention. Soon two men appeared dragging a huge box between them. Behind them appeared a third one with a smaller one.

"A bit to the right!" Matsumoto commanded them. "And careful, you don't want to break it."

"Matsumoto, what's the meaning of this?" Hitsugaya asked sternly.

"Ah, captain!" she called cheerfully. "This is for you." The white-haired boy scowled.

"I didn't order anything."

"Of course you didn't. I ordered it," the woman replied. "But I bought it for you."

"What is it?" he asked warily.

"Your new desk," she answered. "You need it so don't argue." She sounded like a mother telling her child to eat all the spinach. Hitsugaya still felt wary. While it was true that the old desk was uncomfortable, he was anxious about what his lieutenant had bought him. Knowing Matsumoto, it was probably something cutesy and childish. He'd probably have to throw it away right away. But when Matsumoto's helpers unpacked it, he was pleasantly surprised. The desk was just a normal desk, a nice and stylish one. Even the chair looked good, the high back reminding him of a throne. His surprise must have shown on his face, because Matsumoto smiled.

"Don't look so surprised." She said. "What did you think? That I bought something cutesy and childish?" His face marked him as guilty as charged. Matsumoto smiled. "You're a captain now. You have to look respectable."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Matsumoto smiled ruffling his hair. "I'm your vice-captain now. It's my duty to help you." Then another unseated shinigami walked into the room with a package so long he had trouble getting it through the door.

"What is it now?" Hitsugaya asked warily.

"The ladder," Matsumoto answered. "So you don't have to climb on chairs whenever you need something from the upper shelf. We can't have little captains falling from bookcases."

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya growled, but he didn't feel really angry. His new lieutenant was being very thoughtful. The ladder was going to be useful.

"You don't have to thank me," the woman replied. "It's my pleasure to serve my captain."

They spent the rest of the day moving in the new desk and moving his things. Hitsugaya had to admit that his new desk was really more comfortable. Despite not doing any paperwork that day, he considered it successful. Maybe taking Matsumoto as his lieutenant was a good thing. And then she crushed him to her chest and bounced off to the nearest bar. He shook his head in disbelief. It looked like some things weren't going to change.

.*****************************************************************************************.

It was time for the division training. This time Matsumoto didn't make herself scarce before it begun, so he dragged her with him. And because it required no paperwork, she didn't protest. She had nothing against training, as long as it didn't interrupt her nap time. So today she stood before the assembled forces of the Tenth. She already knew some of them and some of them knew her, but there were still many faces that were unfamiliar. And a lot of them were looking at her with expressions that weren't too impressed or friendly.

"So this is our new lieutenant?" she heard somebody in the crowd mutter. "She looks too decorative to be actually of any use. Not like old Lieutenant Yokoyama."

"Of course she isn't like Yokoyama," Hitsugaya said, showing that he heard it too. "But she is your new vice-captain and you will treat her with all due respect."

"This one?" the speaker scoffed. Matsumoto could see her now. It was an unremarkable young woman with a sour expression on her face.

"Yes, this one," Hitsugaya said. "And you should be careful of what you say next, because you are skirting dangerously close to insubordination." He had to remind the officer of her place before she got in trouble needlessly. Though he couldn't recall her name at the moment, he remembered seeing her crying at Yokoyama's funeral. She was one of those who had liked their former lieutenant.

"Thank you, taichou," Matsumoto said, "but I can deal with such troublemakers myself."

"I'd believe it when I see it," the discontent woman uttered.

"If you want to see it, I'd be glad to show you," Rangiku said walking to her. "What's your name?"

"Kayabuki Hitomi," the complainer introduced herself, "Ninth Seat."

"Well, Ninth Seat Kayabuki," Matsumoto smiled an unpleasant smile, while reaching for the hilt of her zanpakutou, "do you have what it takes to back up your words?"

"Of course!" Hitomi grinned, drawing her own sword. "I can take on such beauty queen anytime!"

"I'm glad to hear it," the lieutenant smiled widely. Then she drew Haineko and flash-stepped towards Kayabuki in one fluid movement. The Ninth Seat saw her attack and tried to block it, but the strength behind Matsumoto's blow wrenched her sword from her hands.

"Well," Rangiku asked, "do you still think I'm not worthy?" Kayabuki, trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened, didn't answer. Matsumoto turned to the rest of the assembled shinigami, still smiling brightly. "Does anyone else have a problem with me being a lieutenant?" Nobody spoke up. "In that case, we can begin our training.

The training that day didn't go well. That was the norm in the Tenth, but that day it was even worse than usual. No matter what Hitsugaya and Matsumoto did, they couldn't restore order. The shinigami just kept forgetting their orders and making stupid mistakes.

"They're distracted," Fourth Seat Arai said after Hitsugaya had asked in exasperation why nobody seemed to be able to do anything right today. "It's hard not to be distracted while seeing Matsumoto's fukutaichou's... uhm... assets. Can you tell her to cover them?"

"I can't cover them up!" Matsumoto protested. "My girls need air! If I cover them up, I get too hot and I can't breathe!" Many shinigami in the crowd blushed.

"But if you don't cover them up, no-one else can do anything!" the Fourth Seat argued. "The guys are too busy staring and the girls are too busy being jealous! Please, cover them up. Captain, please, tell her to cover them up."

"Arai-yonseki," Hitsugaya spoke, "an officer has to be able to fight no matter the distraction. Otherwise they aren't worthy of being officers."

"I know, but this is just too much," Arai said. "No-one can be expected to resist it. And besides, how many Hollows have... uhm..."

"Imagine this situation," the captain interrupted him. "You see a beautiful girl being chased by a Hollow. What are you going to do? Purify the Hollow or stare at her assets until the Hollow eats you both?" Arai reddened. Somebody in the crowd giggled. "Consider it handicap training."

After that, the training resumed, but it wasn't any more successful than it used to be before. Hitsugaya suppressed the urge to sigh. This wasn't going well. He could only hope that his subordinates would be able to concentrate better once they'd get used to the sight of Matsumoto and her 'girls.' Then somebody (probably Kayabuki again, but they couldn't be sure) muttered that they'd like to see how well could their captain fight while distracted by Matsumoto. Someone else added that it would be nice to see how well could their leaders fight and many agreed. Seeing the sentiment of the division, Hitsugaya decided that a public spar between him and Matsumoto would be a good idea. It would serve to demonstrate their abilities to those who doubted them. And there was no time like now to begin.

He sent the division members to the sides of the training grounds and faced off with Matsumoto in the middle.

"Begin," he told her. She nodded and attacked. He blocked easily, but didn't retaliate. He wanted to allow her to show off her abilities. Defeating her quickly wouldn't raise her status in their subordinates' eyes.

He let her attack him for several minutes. Then he decided that it had been enough and went on the offensive. He thought he would beat her quickly, but Matsumoto proved better than he expected. She was able to dodge most of his strikes, though just barely, and block the rest. It was partly because he couldn't fight to kill. He could raise his reiatsu a bit and defeat her easily, but that would feel like cheating. No, he wanted to win on skills, not raw power.

He observed her movements carefully. It had been a long time since they used to serve in the Third together and he couldn't remember her fighting style. It didn't take him long to find a pattern in her movements. He suppressed a smile. He saw now what he needed to do to prevail. He feinted an attack at her side and then changed into a stab at her leg. She twisted away and retaliated by thrusting Haineko at Hitsugaya, not realizing that his last movement had been a feint too. The young captain evaded her blade and stepped inside her guard.

He had her now. She had overextended and now she was wide open. The blade of Hyourinmaru swished through the air, aiming for her midsection. Matsumoto's eyes widened. She tried to jump back, but she wasn't quick enough. The tip of Hitsugaya's sword cut through her shihakushou in the middle of her torso. She leaned back just enough for the sword to miss her skin, but her shirt was a goner. The black fabric, cut just below her bosom, flapped open, revealing her humongous breasts. Matsumoto took it without missing a beat.

"Why, captain," the woman smirked, "If you wanted to see them, you could have just said so."

Hitsugaya froze. Matsumoto towering over him, her huge boobs ready to smother him, was a sight that haunted many of his nightmares. Rangiku interpreted his shock the wrong way, but she capitalized on it in the correct one. She attacked. The sound of Haineko's blade cutting through the air snapped the young captain from his stupor and he quickly shunpoed away. The sound of a crash and something breaking accompanied by pain woke him completely. He looked around to see what did he crash into. It was a tree. It was the only tree in the whole training ground. And he just shunpoed into it in front of half of his division. And he did it after he was distracted by the sight of Matsumoto's boobs, right after he had preached to his men how they shouldn't let themselves be distracted by such sights. Talk about embarrassing.

A flicker of movement warned him of the approaching danger. He quickly lifted Hyourinmaru to block Matsumoto's mighty swipe. The woman didn't care that her goodies were showing and tried to finish him while he was down. He couldn't allow it to happen. Before she could strike again, he kicked her knee. She faltered and he used the moment of respite to jump to his feet. He did his best to ignore the two globes of flesh dangling in front of his face and attacked. Matsumoto blocked, but the power behind Hitsugaya's strike nearly wrought her zanpakutou from her grip. She winced. It looked like the boy was finished playing around and was now going for the kill. It wasn't the usual reaction men had to seeing her chest. She tried to muster a counterattack, but Hitsugaya didn't let her. It was now obvious that he was the superior fighter. She was hard-pressed to block everything.

Then she read one of his moves incorrectly and he ducked under her swipe, slammed the hilt of his sword into her elbow, making her release the grip on her weapon and knocked her down with a jumping kick. She landed on her back and he landed on her chest. The blade of Hyourinmaru hovered over her throat.

"I win," he said.

"Looks like it," she replied. "Though, taichou, if you wanted to touch my girls you didn't have to go through all this. You could have just asked." Hitsugaya looked down, for the first time realizing what he was kneeling on and what his left hand was leaning on. He had done too good job of ignoring Matsumoto's boobs, but now he couldn't anymore. His face turned bright red and he quickly jumped away, turning his head the other way.

"Get dressed," he said. Matsumoto wrapped the pieces of her shirt around her and crossed her arms in front of her, hiding her breasts. Despite her reputation, she did mind giving a show to half of her new subordinates. She had to avenge her honor.

"Taichou," she said flirtatiously, "If you won't mind my advice, this isn't a good way to get a look at a girl's boobs. Next time buy her, flowers, invite her for dinner or..."

"That was an accident, Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya interrupted her angrily. He was still blushing deep red. He had to somehow save face in front of his division. It didn't help that half of them looked like they were suppressing laughter and the other half weren't even trying.

"Sure, taichou, whatever you say," Matsumoto replied in a tone that suggested that she knew men and wasn't going to believe anything he said. Now all their subordinates were snickering openly. Hitsugaya tried to think of something suitable to say in this situation, but he came up empty.

"The training is over," he announced instead and shunpoed away. He was worried that if he stayed any longer, Matsumoto would find a way to embarrass him even further. Whatever had possessed him to accept her as his lieutenant? Oh yes, nobody else wanted that position. Sometimes his life just sucked.

.*****************************************************************************************.

It was a beautiful summer day when Hitsugaya strolled through the West Gate. It was one of his rare days off and he knew there was a lot of work to do instead of relaxing, but he felt like he'd snap if he didn't get away from it all. The Tenth wouldn't fall apart within a few hours, at least he hoped so.

Walking through the familiar streets of Junrin'an, he remembered how long it was since he had last visited here. Too long, he concluded. He had been too busy lately. And by 'lately' he meant the last four years. First he was training for Bankai, then he was training for the Captain's Exam and then he was trying to put a demoralized, discipline-less division into a semblance of order. And he was still trying. They were good excuses but excuses nevertheless. He should have found the time to visit more than once a year.

He walked slowly, noting the looks the residents were giving him. Most of them were fearful, some were disbelieving. _Let them stare, _Hitsugaya thought. What did they think about his new haori? Some appeared scared out of their mind, others probably thought he had stolen it somewhere. He couldn't begrudge it to them. Sometimes he had trouble believing that he was indeed a captain. He noticed the shopkeeper that used to throw him out of his store. The man took a look at him, his eyes widened in fear and he hid behind the counter, undoubtedly trembling. Hitsugaya allowed himself a small smirk. The shopkeeper was getting what he deserved.

But maybe he shouldn't be so harsh to him. It was thanks to him that he had met Matsumoto ten years ago. If he hadn't been nasty to him, would the busty blonde have noticed him? Maybe she'd have noticed his reiatsu, maybe not. There was no way to know.

The thought made him nostalgic. He couldn't believe how much his life had changed in just ten short years. Back then he used to be just a brat who loved amanattou and watermelon and spitting the seeds at Bed-wetter Momo and picking at her obsession with Aizen-taichou and had an unflattering opinion on shinigami. Especially of the crazy lady who had bumped into him and yelled at him. And now? Now he was a shinigami captain, one of the most respected people in Seireitei. Well, the respect was slow-going, but thanks to Matsumoto at least the rumors weren't so rampant anymore. She still wasn't sure who had started them, but at least she had managed to convince most people that they were nonsense. He was grateful for it. It was one of the many things to be grateful to Matsumoto for, despite her constantly driving him up the wall.

He was brought out of his musings by the side of a familiar house near the edge of a forest. He was finally home. But was this place still home? He hadn't lived here in so long and he barely visited anymore. He was almost a stranger here now. But where else would he call home? Certainly not any of the barracks he had lived in. He had never stayed long enough in any of them, two years max, and he hadn't particularly liked any of them. But maybe the Tenth would be different? He was the captain now, so he shouldn't be transferred anywhere. But he hadn't lived there long enough to form a connection with the place. He supposed that time would tell.

His train of thought was interrupted by a loud boyish yell. He looked around in surprise. What were children doing here? Were they harassing Granny?

The door of Granny's house opened suddenly and two boys ran out, the first carrying something Hitsugaya couldn't recognize in his hands, the second chasing him.

"Give it back!" the second, smaller boy shouted.

"No!" the first refused.

"It's mine!" the second demanded.

"I have it now!" the first laughed.

"Thief!" the second cried.

"Loser!" the first taunted. In his rush to get away he wasn't looking where he was going and nearly ran into Hitsugaya. The young captain grabbed his arm as he was rushing by him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Ow!" the captured boy screamed. "Watch what you're doing!"

"I do. But you don't seem to be taking your own advice," Hitsugaya replied evenly.

"Stuff it, brat!" the boy, a head taller than Hitsugaya threatened. "Or I'm going to beat you up!"

"You are new here, aren't you?" Hitsugaya asked.

"None of your business!" his captive snarled. "And let me go!"

"No." Hitsugaya replied quietly.

"You asked for it," the boy sneered and aimed a punch at Hitsugaya's face. The young shinigami blocked it with a finger. He usually didn't flaunt his ability this way, but he felt this time he could afford it. Plus the look on the bully's face was priceless.

"What?" he asked stupidly, studying his fist, where a bruise was forming.

"Just a little warning why you should cease your behavior," Hitsugaya enlightened him.

"What are you doing to my brother?" The younger boy reached them and tugged at Hitsugaya's sleeve. "Let him go!"

"So he's your brother?" Hitsugaya questioned.

"Yes," the younger boy confirmed. "And if you don't let him go, I'll call granny on you! She's scary!"

"Jirou! Akira! What did you do this time?" Granny's voice sounded from the house. Hitsugaya looked there. She stood in the doorway, looking the same as ever, surveying the scene with a critical glare.

"She's here now!" the younger boy grinned. "You're going to get it now!"

"Toushirou!" Granny called as she noticed him. "What a surprise! You haven't visited in how long?"

"A year, Granny," he answered.

"Too long," she sighed. "Could you please unhand Akira and come in?" Hitsugaya complied without even thinking about it. "And you, Akira, give Inu-chan back to Jirou." The older boy grimaced, but obeyed. Jirou grabbed Inu-chan, which turned out to be a stuffed toy remotely resembling some animal, maybe a dog, and cradled it to his chest happily.

"Who are you?" Akira asked Hitsugaya, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou," the young captain introduced himself. He wasn't sure why he didn't use his title, but doing so felt wrong in Granny's presence.

"What do you want here?"

"I came to visit," Toushirou answered, trying to ignore the other boy's tone.

"I don't like you," Akira informed him. "Get lost before I beat you."

"You already tried," Hitsugaya reminded him. "And I'm not going anywhere."

"A squirt like you won't talk to me like this," Akira scowled.

"What did you say?" Toushirou's eyes narrowed.

"Akira! Toushirou!" Granny called from the door, interrupting the argument before it could escalate. "Come in or the tea will get cold." Akira glared at Toushirou nastily, which the smaller boy ignored. They walked into the house in silence.

Granny was already kneeling at the table, pouring boiling water from a kettle.

"Sit down and have some tea," she told them. Both youths obeyed.

They drank in silence. Akira kept shooting Toushirou suspicious and dirty glares, which the white-haired boy kept theatrically ignoring. It was obvious that Akira wanted to say something, but didn't dare to do it in front of Granny.

"So tell me, Toushirou, how are you doing?" Granny asked after they finished the tea. Hitsugaya hesitated with the answer. There were many things he wanted to tell her but didn't want to say in front of some strange boys. Granny picked on his hesitation immediately. "You don't have to be shy in front of them. They are good boys."

"Really?" Hitsugaya asked dubiously. "It didn't look like that when I arrived."

"Hey!" Akira protested. "Watch your mouth, shrimp!" That was the wrong word to say. Toushirou was angered immediately.

"You're the one who should watch his mouth, boy," he retorted.

"Children, be nice to each other," Granny scolded them. Both youths backed down, but they still shot dirty glances at each other.

"Let's play!" Jirou suggested cheerfully. Toushirou and Akira didn't like it, but Granny smiled widely.

"That's a great idea, boys."

"I don't want to play with him," Akira complained.

"I'm not a child," Hitsugaya protested. Akira scoffed.

"You're smaller than me."

"So?" Hitsugaya now sounded like a brat without realizing it.

"Children, children," Granny shook her head. "Can't you just get along?"

"With this little snot?" Akira scoffed.

"Don't insult me," Hitsugaya told him icily. His patience was running thin. He came here to talk with Granny in private and instead he found this brat who was constantly picking at him. Was he so suicidal that he wasn't worried about insulting a shinigami captain? Or was he so new and stupid that he didn't realize what Toushirou's shihakushou and haori meant? Considering that he was new to Soul Society, it was plausible. But he should still recognize what a sword was. So maybe he was really dumb.

"And who do you think you are to order me around?" Akira snapped. So it was the second one. "I'm at home here so you better behave yourself in my house!"

"First," Hitsugaya said with narrowed eyes. "This isn't your house. It's Granny's. Second: I've lived here for longer than you did, so don't tell me I'm not at home here."

"I told you no arguing under my roof," Granny repeated sternly. "Either you behave or you don't have to be here."

"I'm not arguing, I'm putting him in his place," Akira claimed.

"Akira!" Granny's voice sounded like a whip. "Didn't you hear me earlier?"

"Hmph. It's not like I want to be here with him. I have better places to be," the big boy scoffer and stormed out of the house.

"Sorry about him," Granny smiled.

"I'm sorry," Toushirou said. "I shouldn't get so worked up over some brat."

"It is unbefitting of your rank," Granny agreed. "So why didn't you mention yet that you were a captain?"

"Uh..." Hitsugaya searched for the right words. Saying 'I forgot' to Granny usually wasn't a good idea. She would take it worse than Momo.

"I can understand you are busy, but why did I have to hear about your promotion from Momo?"

"You have no idea just what kind of mess I have to deal with at the Tenth. I have barely the time for anything. But I'm sorry I didn't write you." He hoped it was enough of an apology.

"I get that captains have much more important things to worry about than some old woman in Rukongai," Granny said. Hitsugaya felt a pang in his heart.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking down. "I'll try to visit more often."

"You don't have to force it. I'm not alone here anymore."

"Can we play now?" Jirou asked hopefully. The conversation went right over his head and he was getting bored.

"Of course," Granny answered, not waiting for Hitsugaya's response. "You boys go and play." Toushirou wanted to protest that he wasn't a child, but Granny's pointed look told him that he shouldn't. Jirou grabbed him and dragged him to the next room.

"So what do you like to play?" Jirou asked enthusiastically.

"Uhm..." Hitsugaya didn't know what to answer. It had been so long since he had last played. He could barely remember the names of the games, much less which one he used to like. And why was he even thinking about it? He wasn't a child. He didn't play. He was doing this only because Granny said so.

"Let's play knights!"

"What?" Toushirou asked. That name said him absolutely nothing.

"Knights!" Jirou repeated. "We'll be knights and go on a quest and fight dragons," Hitsugaya heard Hyourinmaru's angry roar in his mind, "and giants and monsters and rescue a princess!"

"What princess?" Hitsugaya asked. Expect for the princess, it sounded like a regular day at work to him, only with less paperwork.

"A princess!" Jirou answered like the answer was completely obvious. To him it probably was. Toushirou was lost. "Or we can be adventurers and journey through the jungle and search for lost treasures! That would be so much fun! I want to be an adventurer when I grow up. What do you want to be when you grow up?"

That made Hitsugaya pause. What did he want to be once he grew up? He already was a shinigami captain, which was as high as anyone could ever dream to get. What was there left to dream about and wish for? A well-functioning division? A lieutenant who actually did her paperwork? Subordinates who respected him and didn't make fun of his height and age?

"So what do you want to be?" Jirou prodded when Hitsugaya wasn't answering. When he still didn't say anything, Jirou frowned. "You're no fun," he complained.

The rest of the day was very awkward. Jirou tried to make Hitsugaya play games which he didn't know and took very little interest in. Eventually the younger boy got bored and ran off to play with Akira, deciding that even being bullied was more fun. Hitsugaya spent the rest of the day talking to Granny. But no matter how he tried to think that nothing had changed, he could feel that nothing was like it used to be anymore. Granny had new grandchildren now, a happy, childish bunch everybody liked, not a strange and creepy kid like him. He wished her the happiness, but he couldn't help but feel left behind. He tried to convince himself that there was nothing to be sad about. First Momo and then he had left Granny over ten years ago. It was only right that she found somebody else to fill her days with laughter. He shouldn't begrudge her moving on. He should move on himself.

After he bid goodbye to Granny, he headed back to Seireitei. He wondered just what did he move on to. Momo had firmly attached herself to Aizen and the bond grew even stronger since she became his lieutenant. They still saw each other occasionally, but he wasn't the most important person in her life anymore. So who did he have? Ikeda-sensei was dead. Even years after it had happened the thought still hurt, though the pain had dulled over time. Who else was there? Matsumoto? She was becoming closer to him, but she usually just drove him up the wall. He realized that he really didn't want to return to the barracks. Nothing nice awaited him there. But he couldn't afford to just turn and run, no mater how alluring it sounded.

He dragged himself to the Tenth's compound, half dreading what he would find there. It wasn't as bad as he feared. The barracks were still standing, the division didn't fall apart in his absence, just two unranked members got into a brawl and the Third Seat was now lecturing them. When he saw Hitsugaya, he passed the two misbehaving men to him and left the young captain to deal with them as he saw fit. Hitsugaya suppressed a sigh. It meant more paperwork for him. But he dealt with it swiftly.

When he was finished, Matsumoto sauntered into the office, looking slightly tipsy.

"Taichou! You're back!" she called cheerfully and then enveloped him in a suffocating hug. He struggled to get free and scowled at her.

"Matsumoto! What are you doing? And where were you the whole day?"

"Here," she replied with a shrug. "I just went out for a moment to conduct the investigation, you know which one."

"Yes," Hitsugaya sighed. "So did you find that perpetrator?"

"Not yet, but I'm getting close. I'll have him in no time," she promised sincerely. Hitsugaya believed her, despite her statement sounding like an excuse for doing nothing.

"I hope you will. And did you have to get drunk in the process?"

"People are more talkative after a cup of sake or two," she explained. "I already told you this."

"Whatever," he sighed. He couldn't stay angry at Matsumoto. No matter her numerous faults, she appeared to be the only person here who was genuinely happy to see him. That outweighed everything else she did, or more typically didn't do.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"I found him, taichou," announced Matsumoto with a smile when she sauntered into the office once early afternoon.

"Who?" Hitsugaya asked not lifting his head from his paperwork. He had a mountain of it to fill and he was in no mood for his fukutaichou's shenanigans.

"That no-good guy who's been spreading the nasty rumors about you, of course," she answered. That got Hitsugaya's attention.

"Really?" he asked not caring that he smudged the ink on an important report.

"Really," she nodded. "It was hard, he's a clever one, but he isn't smarter than me," she boasted.

"So who is he?" Hitsugaya wanted to know.

"Seventeenth Seat Ogidou." The name sounded vaguely familiar. Probably because he'd read it on the list of his subordinates.

"So where is he now?" the young captain asked.

"Training grounds," the fukutaichou answered. "His squad is training now, but they should finish soon."

"You didn't arrest him?" Hitsugaya questioned.

"I thought you'd like to do it yourself." She had a point. He'd really like to deal with the slanderer himself.

"Let's go," he decided.

"Right, taichou," Matsumoto grinned and lead the way towards where the slandered was training. They reached the training grounds shortly.

"There is he," the lieutenant pointed at a good-looking guy currently explaining something to a pair of unseated shinigami. Hitsugaya stopped for a while and observed him. So this guy was the source of his recent trouble? He didn't look that part. Though Hitsugaya had learned a long time ago that appearances couldn't be trusted, he still couldn't imagine this man, who acted so kind and was so good at training his underlings, could do anything vicious. For a moment he felt doubt. What if Matsumoto was wrong? What if she made a mistake? Could he accuse a good officer based just on her word?

Then Ogidou noticed him and walked over to him.

"Good day, captain," he greeted. "What can I do for you?" His words sounded polite and sincere, yet for a moment his face had contorted into a hateful grimace. It was gone almost as soon as it appeared, but at that moment Hitsugaya realized that this man really hated him enough to start a smear campaign against him. But why? That remained a mystery. The young captain couldn't recall meeting him before taking command of the Tenth.

"Good day," Hitsugaya replied. He was still reluctant to accuse this man outright. So far he had only Matsumoto's word and his hunch saying that he was guilty. "I just wanted to see how the squad training was progressing." It was a pathetic attempt at delaying an uncomfortable confrontation.

"Huh, taichou, didn't you want to talk about something else?" Matsumoto prompted. "Like the source of that malicious slander?"

"What are you talking about?" Ogidou made a decent impression of confused innocence. It wasn't good enough to fool his audience. Mainly because they both knew that there wasn't a single shinigami in the Tenth who hadn't heard about it yet.

"Oh, don't try to look innocent," Matsumoto said. "I know very well it's been you. I talked to everybody in this division and tracked the rumors back to you. So don't try to tell me it wasn't you."

"You think you're so smart, lady," the man scoffed, shooting Matsumoto a hateful glare. It was almost like a confession of guilt.

"Why?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Why?" Ogidou's face twisted in a condescending grimace. He didn't even try to deny the accusation. "You ask why? Oh, it looks like you really don't remember. But why would you? The great prodigy," he spat. "Why would you ever notice other people in your class? You weren't going to stay more than a couple of months anyway. So why would you care if one of them died?"

Hitsugaya suddenly realized where he had seen Ogidou before. He used to look younger, more boyish, wore his hair in a different fashion and didn't have the stubble on his chin back then. But the eyes were the same, including the hateful look he shot Hitsugaya. Takehiko. Ogidou Takehiko, once a classmate of Hitsugaya and boyfriend of Kamizuki Minako, the girl that had been killed during the fateful first field trip at the Academy. Takehiko had tried to exact revenge once before and almost managed to get Hitsugaya thrown out of the Academy. The young captain had a good reason to hate this man. Yet when he saw the raw pain in Takehiko's eyes, he felt bad for wanting to punish him. The man had suffered enough when he had lost his love. Hitsugaya could recall the incident vividly: the scorpion-Hollow standing above him, about to skewer him with its claw, then Minako appearing and cutting the claw off, saving him, smiling, then her expression turning into one of surprise and then agony as the scorpion's tail pierced her back. It was the first death of a shinigami in action Hitsugaya had seen and it had haunted his dreams for a long time. But after a couple of years he had pushed it into the back of his mind. But Takehiko didn't forget. He thought of it every day. It was just natural for him to seek revenge on everyone who looked the least bit guilty.

"Uh, captain, what's going on?" Matsumoto asked. Her voice brought Hitsugaya out of his musings.

"Would you tell her or should I?" Takehiko asked. "Or would you rather it remained forgotten?"

"No," Hitsugaya replied. Some things shouldn't be forgotten. "His girlfriend was killed by a Hollow during our Academy field trip. He thinks it was my fault."

Takehiko muttered something that sounded like "Damn right it was."

"Oh, come on," Matsumoto said. "How can you believe something so nasty about someone so sweet?" She ruffled Hitsugaya's hair to punctuate her words.

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya glowered at her. Takehiko scoffed.

"Oh, he looks sweet alright, but he's a vicious little bastard who doesn't care about anyone but himself!" The ground whitened with frost as Hitsugaya was getting angrier and angrier. But it was Matsumoto who acted first. She clubbed Takehiko on the head.

"And what about you?" she scoffed. "Did you care about anyone but yourself when you spread the rumors? Do you have any idea what have you done to the morale in the division? You're a pathetic excuse of a shinigami!"

"Like you're one to talk," Takehiko retorted, shooting a pointed look at Matsumoto's revealing attire.

"Enough," Hitsugaya commanded. He couldn't stand the man in front of him anymore. Had he really felt a bit of sympathy towards him earlier? What was he thinking? Many shinigami had lost somebody dear, sometimes thanks to something another shinigami did, and they didn't start a malicious smear campaign. Takehiko's deeds couldn't be excused by his pain. "Don't compare Matsumoto's clothes with your slander. I want to demote you on the spot, but you have gone beyond mere insubordination, so this isn't really in my jurisdiction anymore. The Central 46 will have to decide."

Takehiko paled and then turned deep red with rage. "So this is what you're going to do? You little..." He reached for his sword, but Hitsugaya kicked his hand away and Matsumoto caught him in a headlock.

"Well, Seventeenth Seat Ogidou Takehiko, you're under arrest," the young captain said, relishing every word. "Matsumoto-fukutaichou, take him away. I'm going to file the charges against him." He watched as the blonde woman dragged the frothing man away before heading to his office. For once he didn't mind doing paperwork. The form he was currently filling meant that the source of trouble in his division was finally rooted out. Things could start improving now, even if it would take a long time before everything will be alright again.

.*****************************************************************************************.

"Honestly, taichou, are you listening to me?" Matsumoto asked in an annoying tone.

"What?" Hitsugaya snapped as he lifted his head from the paperwork he was supposed to be doing, but couldn't concentrate thanks to his fukutaichou's constant yapping.

"You weren't listening, were you?" she accused.

"I was doing paperwork," he retorted. "Which is what you should be doing to but aren't," he pointed at the pile sitting at her desk untouched. "So unless you have something really important to say, be quiet and work."

"This is important, taichou," she stated.

"What is it?" he asked with an exasperated sigh. He had the feeling that he shouldn't encourage her, but what if it really was important? Matsumoto might yet prove to be a competent lieutenant. Oh... who he was kidding. She probably wanted some childish nonsense again.

"You really should work on your dating techniques. If you want to see some boobies again..."

Hitsugaya sighed. Of course it would be this. It had been nearly a month since their fateful spar and she still didn't let up. He groaned. He'd probably never hear the end of this. And if he did, it would be only because Matsumoto found something even more embarrassing to tease him about.

"Matsumoto," he growled dangerously, "I believe I forbade you to mention it ever again."

"But captain, I'm doing it for your own good," she objected. "You're a fine and handsome young man, you shouldn't have to restore to tearing girls' clothes open to see their goodies."

"Matsumoto, for the last time, that was an accident. I have no desire to look at anyone's 'goodies' as you call it, so don't bring it up again." The vein in his forehead was pulsating now.

"You don't want to look at my goodies?" The busty woman looked taken aback.

"No," Hitsugaya confirmed.

"But, captain, if you don't want to look at them, does it mean you're gay?"

"What!" Now it was Hitsugaya's turn to be shocked. His shock was quickly replaced by anger. "Of course not! Stop this useless banter now and start working!"

"I think you protest too much, taichou," she replied.

"Matsumoto, stop talking and start working," he growled. His patience was just about spent. For about the hundredth time that day, he asked himself whatever had possessed him to accept the infuriating woman as his vice-captain.

"Really, captain, if you aren't interested in my girls, it means there's something wrong with you."

"I'm too young for it," he admitted with embarrassment. "And Matsumoto, get back to your work now, and this is the last warning."

"But if you are going to be interested in those," she displayed her cleavage proudly, "eventually, you have to learn how to get a look at them without resorting to violence. As a woman, it's my duty to ensure the safety of my fellow females."

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya growled. The young captain struggled to keep his temper and his reiatsu under control. The room was chilling rapidly. "Stop making it sound worse than it actually was. Will you shut up on your own on do I have to shut you up with Kidou?"

"Shut me up with Kidou? Captain, you really need to get those violent urges under control. And how do you make somebody shut up with a Kidou anyway?"

"There's a Bakudou that sews your lips together. Do you really want me to demonstrate?"

"There is?" She looked surprised. "I've never heard of it."

"Then allow me to show you," he said, lifting his hands in preparation to cast the spell. Before he could utter the first word of the incantation, the door to his office ware flung open.

"Captain!" a breathless shinigami called. "There's an emergency!" Hitsugaya noted that the messenger was looking at him, which was a welcome change from the last time he had received an emergency report. Now if he could be sure that it was because his division was finally beginning to trust him and not because they trusted Matsumoto even less.

"What happened?" Hitsugaya and Matsumoto asked in unison. The man bringing the message struggled to catch his breath, before explaining.

"The Second Combat unit is in trouble!" _Second Combat Unit._ It took Hitsugaya a moment to remember who led it: Fourth Seat Arai. It should be some big trouble when a Fourth Seat couldn't deal with it. Though, Hitsugaya had to admit, the quality of the Tenth's officers left something to be desired. It was probably the reason why there were two emergencies in the short time he had been in command.

"What kind of trouble?" he demanded.

"Where are they?" Matsumoto added.

"Hollows," the man said. "Lots of them."

"What Hollows?" Hitsugaya asked. The man just shrugged. It looked like this was all he knew. Well, it would have been nice to know what they were up against, but it looked like he'd have to make without it. Well, he was a captain for a reason. At least he thought so. He made a mental note to train his subordinates to send better emergency messages. The first one had been incorrect and this one incomplete.

"Where did it happen?" Matsumoto asked again.

"West Rukongai," the man reported and for a moment Hitsugaya felt a stab of fear. "27th district." Hitsugaya felt relieved. That was far enough from Granny's house.

"Which part?" he barked. The man didn't know. Yes, he would definitely have to teach his subordinates to give more accurate reports. Rukongai districts were big and the higher the number, the bigger they got. He'd have to hope they'd be able to find the group in trouble by their reiatsu.

"Let's go, Matsumoto," he ordered, grabbing Hyourinmaru and putting it on his back.

"Hai, taichou," his lieutenant said. Haineko was already tugged in her belt.

They raced out of Seireitei. Reaching the 27th district didn't take them long. Captain- and lieutenant-level shunpo was really fast. They didn't have to worry about locating the unit in trouble either, their reiatsu was easy to sense.

When they arrived at the battlefield, Hitsugaya paused for a moment to evaluate the situation. There were no Menos there. That was good. After the last fiasco he had half-expected one. But there were several Giant Hollows. Considering how unusual it was for them to band together, he had been running into such gatherings quite often lately.

Then he assessed who needed his help the most at the moment. The decision was easy. One of the Hollows was holding the prone form of a woman, probably Ninth Seat Kayabuki, though Hitsugaya wasn't sure from this distance and angle, and was about to bite her in half. The young captain waited for nothing, drew his zanpakutou and shunpoed to help her. He appeared at the back of the Hollow's shoulder and cut through its head and mask. It began slowly dissolving, but it squeezed its captive harder in its death throes, threatening to crush her. Hitsugaya quickly jumped down and cut the hand off at the wrist. The fingers finally slackened as more and more of them became a cloud of black reishi. Hitsugaya caught the woman (who was indeed Kayabuki) and laid her on the ground. Then he looked around to see what he should do next.

He noticed that Matsumoto had also joined the battle. One of the Giant Hollows roared in pain as Haineko cleaved its mask in two. But the enemies were still numerous. One had just knocked down a shinigami whose name Hitsugaya couldn't recall. He quickly rushed to his aid.

The battle was one-sided. Though the Giant Hollows were too strong for the average shinigami, they couldn't compare in power to a captain and a lieutenant. Even a Fourth Seat should be able to take care of them, but unfortunately Arai had been wounded at the beginning of the battle when he had taken the blow for one of his subordinates. As a result, there was no-one really powerful in fighting condition and the unit struggled to survive until Hitsugaya and Matsumoto arrived. But once they did, the Hollows began dropping like flies.

Soon there was only one Hollow left. It was the smallest in the group, but still bigger than a house. Hitsugaya jumped high to cut off its head, not noticing Matsumoto doing the same from the other side. He swung his sword down, cutting cleanly through the Hollow's head. It started dissolving into reishi. Then Hitsugaya noticed something approaching him fast through the slowly-dissolving Hollow's corpse. He was midair and unable to dodge and his sword was in a wrong position for blocking. He tried it anyway, because there was nothing else he could do. He at least managed to redirect the attack, but it hit him in the foot. Something sliced through the sole of his sandal and went deep into the flesh, probably all the way through. In the next moment, something slammed into him and he came tumbling down from the air.

As he fell, he realized that he something that had slammed into him was Matsumoto and then the tip of her zanpakutou was red with his blood. Before he could draw a conclusion from it, something slammed into his back. It turned out to be the ground. And then Matsumoto landed on him. He lay on the ground, momentarily dazed, but he recovered quickly. The impact didn't hurt him much, but he had a hard time coming to terms with what happened. Matsumoto had cut him. After winning the battle without a scratch, Matsumoto had to go and cut him. His own lieutenant. What did she think she was doing?

He opened his mouth scold her, but he realized he couldn't speak. He couldn't even breathe. It was because Matsumoto was still lying on top of him and her humongous breasts were pressing into his face. He pushed her away. She rolled on the ground with a yelp.

"Ow! Taichou! What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" Hitsugaya snarled back sitting up. "You cut me!"

"Huh?" She looked like innocence personified. It pissed Hitsugaya off. He pointed at his leg, where blood was seeping into his tabi.

"See this? This is your work."

"My work?" she was taken aback. "Taichou, I would never hurt you." She had some strange definition of the word 'hurt,' Hitsugaya thought.

"But you did," he stated. "What were you doing? Why did you attack the Hollow when you saw I was already attacking it?"

"I didn't see you," she replied.

"You should pay more attention," he suggested.

"So what about you, taichou?" she asked. "Why didn't you notice me?" Oh, she had a point there. But Hitsugaya had no intention to lose this argument.

"I didn't cut you," he pointed out. She pouted. Hitsugaya sighed. All around them, their subordinates were watching them wide-eyed. It wasn't good to let them see their captain and lieutenant arguing. Letting them see the lieutenant accidentally wounding the captain was bad enough. He had to gather whatever dignity he had left and salvage the situation somehow.

He took a closer look at his wound. The bleeding was slowing down. The wound didn't hurt much, mostly just stung. It looked like the blade didn't pierce all the way through after all. But at this moment, he couldn't be sure whether his tendons and bones were intact. He stood up, putting weight onto his wounded foot experimentally. It hurt a bit, but it didn't buckle under him. He tried to make a step. Good. It looked like he'd have no trouble walking. He could concentrate on helping his wounded subordinates without worrying about his wound.

"Let's go," he said. Matsumoto grabbed him and lifted him in her arms.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a sudden sense of panic. It was all he could do not to scream like a little girl at his lieutenant's unexpected action.

"Carrying you," she answered. "I can't let you strain your wounded leg. What if you made it worse?"

"I can walk just fine! Put me down!" Toushirou demanded.

"Why, captain?" she raised an eyebrow. "Are you scared of heights?" _Wait when you see me fly, _Hitsugaya thought.

"Of course not!" he snapped, now blushing with embarrassment. That infuriating woman always knew how to make him look like a complete baby. It was a no-win situation. Either he'd look like a baby if he let her carry him or he'd look like he was afraid of heights if he'd demand she put him down. Their subordinates were watching them with barely suppressed smirks.

"Then what are you so scared of?" she asked playfully. Before Hitsugaya could answer, Matsumoto tripped and they both fell into a muddy puddle. Hitsugaya bit back a scream as the wound in his foot was aggravated by Matsumoto's knee landing on it. It almost distracted him from her boobs landing in his face. Almost. _How does she always do it? _he mused idly.

"That's what I was afraid of," he replied once she got up from him and he was able to speak and breathe again. He looked ruefully at his haori. It was completely soaked through by the muddy brown water. And those things were ridiculously hard to wash.

"Sorry, captain," Matsumoto apologized hurriedly. "Let me help you." She grabbed him again and tried to lift him in her arms again, but slipped and in the process dropped him into the mud again, soiling even the previously clean part of his uniform. That broke even the last strands of Hitsugaya's patience.

"MATSUMOTO!"

.*****************************************************************************************.

It was now several months since he had become a captain. It was the time for Academy students to graduate and choose a division. He wanted a lot of them to join and boost the depleted ranks of the Tenth, but he knew it wasn't going to be easy. The problem was that before his promotion, the Tenth had been without a captain for nearly eighty years and without a competent lieutenant for twenty. The results were showing a lot. What had once been a proud division of the Gotei 13 was now in ruins and everybody knew it. Whoever could, transferred somewhere else and only the most devoted and those no other captain wanted in their unit remained. The news of the Tenth's abysmal condition spread even to the Academy, making the graduates do anything to get into some other division. For a couple of years now, no new recruits joined the Tenth. Hitsugaya wanted to change it, but he didn't know how. Though he had done his best to put the division into a semblance of order, the results weren't anything to be too happy about. There was only so much he could do with the subordinates he had been given. The state of the division was now merely bad. And though the Tenth wasn't captainless anymore, a child at its helm wasn't inspiring much trust either. And that wasn't speaking about the trash of Gotei 13 manning all the other positions.

"Something on your mind, taichou?" a happy, bubbly voice brought him out of his musings. Matsumoto Rangiku. His new lieutenant. A capable fighter, but unbelievably lazy and useless at almost everything else. Not his first choice of a second-in-command, but she had volunteered where all other candidates refused. He supposed she was better than nothing, though sometimes he doubted.

"I'm just worried about the recruitment," he answered. "We need to get as many recruits as we can, but I don't know what to offer them to convince them to come here. This division is still the worst among the thirteen."

"That all?" she asked in a tone that said she didn't consider it a problem. "Just leave it to me then. I'll lure here more recruits than you'll know what to do with."

"Lure?" he questioned her odd choice of words. "How?"

She smiled mysteriously. "That's a secret." He wasn't convinced. But in the end, he let her do it. It wasn't like she could make it any worse and he had too many other problems to deal with.

.*****************************************************************************************.

The day of accepting new recruits into the division came. Hitsugaya half dreaded it. He was convinced that letting Matsumoto deal with the recruitment had been a mistake. There would be no-one there. But as he walked into the hall where the newcomers were supposed to assemble, he was surprised to find thirty young men and a grinning Matsumoto waiting there. Wait, men? When he had attended the Academy, there had been a fair share of girls studying there. But there was no female in the room aside from Matsumoto. Wait, no, there was one woman among the recruits, but she didn't look very feminine, so he had initially missed her. What did it mean? He decided to postpone the question for later and gave the recruits a welcoming speech. He hoped it didn't sound as cheesy to them as it did to him. He then ordered some of the seated officers to show the recruits their rooms and pulled Matsumoto aside.

"How did you do it?" he asked.

"I told you, captain, it's a secret," she winked in a more seductive than conspiratorial manned and leaned over him, causing her boobs to come dangerously close to his face. Hitsugaya quickly backed away, but not before noticing that there was more visible of them than usual, a feat he had considered impossible. He also noticed that her pink scarf wasn't tied around her neck as was her habit, but hung loosely from her shoulders, framing her cleavage nicely. That caused a suspicion to arise in his mind. He knew very well the power Matsumoto's chest had in its usual half-covered state. If she exposed even more of it, well it would explain why all the new recruits were men. But surely even Matsumoto wouldn't be that shameless? Who was he kidding, it was Matsumoto. The concept of shame was lost on her. But surely all the recruits couldn't be that susceptible to her charms? But they were young men, so they probably were. For once, Hitsugaya was glad that Matsumoto's boobs had no effect on him. Well, other than scaring him with their bludgeoning and smothering ability.

"You dragged them here by your boobs, didn't you?" he asked.

"Captain," she pouted, "you put it so crudely."

"You did," he sighed.

"You make it sound like I did something wrong. Is it my fault that men just can't resist when I show them my ample bounty?" Hitsugaya sighed. He really, really didn't want to have this argument, but he didn't want to back off and let Matsumoto think that what she did was alright.

"It's shameless and immoral."

"What is?" she raised an eyebrow. "I merely obeyed taichou's order. You told me to get here some recruits so I did." It was an argument Hitsugaya couldn't dispute.

"You didn't have to do it this way. Now everyone would think you're a..." He didn't finish the sentence. Granny's upbringing reared its head and reminded him that if he used such language, he'd be faced with the wrath of the one person he considered scarier than Unohana.

"A what?" Matsumoto asked, seeing his embarrassment. "And what does it matter what they think as long as they already joined?"

"They can just transfer," he pointed out.

"No, they can't," she shook her head with conviction. "They wouldn't admit they joined just because of my girls. And if they think about leaving, I'd just bounce them around again and they'd forget all about it."

Hitsugaya sighed in resignation. "You really are shameless."

"Thank you, taichou," she smiled. She took it as a compliment. Really, really shameless. He didn't like being stuck with her, but at least she could get the work done. It she felt like it. He could have done worse. Probably.

"But I see a problem that you recruited only men. This way, we are going to gain the same reputation as the Eleventh. I don't want to change the Tenth into an all-male division."

"I brought girls too," Matsumoto pointed out.

"That one lesbian doesn't make a difference."

"There are three girls," Matsumoto corrected.

"Three?" Hitsugaya couldn't believe his ears. Two of the men were actually women? He decided not to dwell at it. "Whatever. But three is still too few."

"That's easy to change," Matsumoto smiled. "Next year, you do the recruitment and the girls would squeal. There's no way they'd be able to resist such cuteness. You'd have to bat the girls away with your zanpakutou."

"I am not cute!"

"Of course you are," Matsumoto disagreed and enveloped him in her bearhug.

"MAFUMOFO!"

* * *

End note: And that's all, folks. Hitsugaya is captain, Matsumoto his lieutenant, they're learning to work together and the state of the Tenth Division is improving. It will still take some time, but it will get there. I don't really have anything more to write about on this storyline.

I wrote an oneshot sequel that happens several years after this. It shows Hitsugaya, Matsumoto and their subordinates including the OCs from this story. It works as a stand-alone story, so I don't paste it here as chapter 21. I'll publish it sometimes next week as a part of my collection Tales of the Gotei 13. After that I'll start posting a new epic-length Bleach story, so you won't miss Hitsugaya and Matsumoto for long. You might also spot other familiar characters there.


End file.
